


Wisteria: Volume 1

by QrowCane



Series: Wisteria [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Blood and Injury, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 50,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28416363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QrowCane/pseuds/QrowCane
Summary: Lilah Branwen is a mysterious girl found roaming around Beacon Academy. She has an awful personality to everyone, all besides Qrow Branwen and Professor Ozpin. Nothing is known about her besides the fact that Qrow personally trained her, and she's kind of like a mean staff at the school that no one would ever dare walk up to. She has one hell of a dark secret only a small handful of people know, and a past that's too painful to talk about. When Beacon falls at the hands of Cinder and her associates, will the very thing she's been trying to hide finally be revealed?(Uploaded from my Quotev account. This book itself is a couple of years old.)
Relationships: Lilah Branwen (OC) & Everyone
Series: Wisteria [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081202
Kudos: 6





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first RWBY story, written 2/3 years ago! I hope you guys enjoy :3
> 
> It starts off during Volume 3, and my original characters will be fit into the canon storyline. The second book is currently a work-in-progress.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

"You aren't going down to watch the tournament?" Ozpin questioned, taking a sip of his freshly-poured hot cocoa. He took a glance at the purple-eyed brunette, who had just lied down on his desk. "I hope you know this isn't a bed."

"Oh, I know," she said, pushing herself upright. The girl wore a long-sleeved shoulderless lavender sweater under a thin black jacket with beige-colored fur around the hood. Her pants were reddish-brown with a darker set of knee-length high-heeled boots. Around her neck was a thick-chained golden necklace with an oval-cut amethyst in the middle and two large gold bracelets on her wrist, as well as a black headband. "I'm just bored."

Ozpin let out a low chuckle. "Well, you wouldn't be so bored if you spent some time on the festival grounds instead of my office."

"If Qrow were here, I might have," the girl said, pulling her hood over her wavy chestnut hair as she looked off to the side. "But he isn't, and I don't trust anyone else but you, so I'd rather stick here."

"I know you've been through a lot, but if you wish to become a huntress, you must at least make an acquaintance or two," the headmaster informed, setting his cup down in front of him. He turned in his chair to face her. "I know a pair of sisters who would love to meet you."

"Short-stack and blondie? No thanks." The girl scowled. "If they start thinking of me as family, then..." She trailed off, emitting a soft sigh.

"I understand your mindset, Lilah," Ozpin uttered, "but you won't heal mentally if you keep to yourself. I believe it is in your best interest t-"

"-To get to know someone, I know," Lilah grumbled, jumping to her feet. "You've said it a thousand times, Ozzy." Ozzy was a childish nickname, but it just stuck since the day they first met, and Ozpin made no complaints about it.

She glanced over at the screen in front of the headmaster, hearing Professor Port and Dr. Oobleck announce the next round.

" _Ah, well, Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that one,_ " Dr. Oobleck said quickly, leaning into the camera. " _But this next round will have them at the edge of their seats!_ " The camera moved to Professor Port, showing a picture of four girls above him.

" _Team_ _NDGO_ _of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite. But these lovely ladies are going against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far. I'm, of course, talking about Team SSSN!_ " The camera switched over to a small part of the audience, who held up signs of the team's members. " _Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with._ " Now showing the popular Team SSSN, Professor Port continued. " _And although he'll be representing the Mistral academy of Haven, I'm sure his friends and family back in Vacuo will be cheering him along._ "

"I'm gonna go get some fresh air," Lilah announced as she made her way to the elevator, showing no interest in either team. With most people watching the fights, the school grounds would be likely empty.

"Not going to watch the battle?" Ozpin questioned. His gaze remained on the screen.

"No thanks." The doors opened and the brunette stepped through. "Sitting around is tiring."

"All right then." As the elevator doors closed, the two bid each other adieu.

" _And with that_ ," Professor Port cried, " _Team SSSN moves on to the doubles round!_ " He turned over to the green-haired teacher beside him. " _You know what I call_ that _victory?_ "

"Shocking _?_ " Dr. Oobleck joked, referring to the fact that Neptune had electrocuted Team NDGO.

" _No. Well-earned. What you said is stupid._ "

In the bar Crow Bar, the bartender whistled in satisfaction. "Now _that_ was a match!" he commented, turning to look at the raven-haired huntsman.

"Pfft, that was a mess," Qrow retorted, swirling his glass of alcohol in his hands. His voice was rather low and his speech was a bit slow.

"Come on, man, you didn't like _them_? The Vale kids? Or any of the other rounds before that?" the mustached bartender asked, raising his arms and shoulders. "What fight are you here for?"

In the background, a large transport aircraft flew by. Qrow noticed and smirked, recognizing it instantly. "That one," he said. He stood up and took one last gulp of his drink before stumbling backward. "Whoo, heh..." He placed his glass on the table and tossed some cash to the bartender. "Happy Vytal Festival." He turned around and staggered outside.

The bartender went to pick up the glass, but the back of his hand hit another and it crashed to the floor. He frowned. "Aw, gee darn it."

Ruby was chasing Weiss as they ran across the courtyard, over to the ship that was beginning to land. "Weiss," Ruby said, "what is the big deal? Who is it? Who is she?"

"Winter!" the young heiress exclaimed loudly over the engine of the aircraft.

"Wait... your sister?"

"Winter!" Weiss called, catching the huntress's attention as she and Ruby hurried over. "Winter! I'm so happy to see you! Oh!" She quickly changed her approach and spoke more formally. "Your presence honors us."

Winter looked around slightly, slowly making her way to the younger Schnee. "Beacon," she said, keeping her hands held behind her back and her posture straight. "It's been a long time. The air feels... _different_."

"I mean, it's fall, so it's probably colder..." Ruby said in a soft, timid voice, scratching the back of her head. Weiss landed a punch on Little Red's shoulder. "Ahh!"

"So," Weiss questioned, "what are you doing here?"

"Classified."

"Oh, right. Well, how long are you staying?"

"Classified." Winter's face became a bit more stern.

"Of course." Weiss dipped her head barely. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, making Ruby uncomfortable.

With her hands behind her back, she spoke up. "Well, this is nice... I think."

"You're going to love it here!" Weiss squealed with excitement. "I know you travel a lot, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas! Vale, too. The government and school are completely separate! Can you believe it? I-"

"I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its bureaucracy," Winter interrupted. "That is not why I came."

"Right! I'm sorry." Weiss looked down apologetically.

"Nor did I come here to watch my own blood fail miserably in battle," Winter continued. "But it appears I have no choice in the matter."

"But we won." Weiss looked up at her elder sister in confusion. Team RWBY won a fight against Team ABRN; it was a _perfect_ victory.

"Only a novice would refer to _that_ as a victory," the Atlesian huntress informed with a scowl. "I counted at least three strikes missed." She held her hand up to signal the Atlesian Knights behind her. "Leave us." The androids backed away and she let out a sigh. "How have you been?" she questioned, looking Weiss in the eyes.

"Oh, splendid! Thank you for asking." She began to boast. "I'm actually in the very top rank of our sparring class. The rest of my studies are going wonderfully too. I'm-"

Winter smacked her on the top of her head. "Silence, you boob!" she said. "I don't recall asking about your ranking. I asked how you've _been_." She gave her a smile. "Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"

"Well, there's Ruby." Weiss gestured over to the shorter redhead. Ruby, giggling and snorting, poked the bump on the other's head.

"Boop."

"I see," Winter said. "So this is the leader you rote of. How appropriately...-" she scanned Ruby up and down, "-underwhelming."

Being socially awkward, the young leader wasn't sure how to respond. "Uhh... thank you."

"Greetings, Ruby Rose," the huntress said. "I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister."

"Oh, yes, of course!" Ruby replied. She attempted to straighten her back, becoming tense under her _wintry_ gaze. "The honor is in my...-" she scrambled to figure out what to say that wouldn't sound immature. Lifting up her skirt and bowing, she finished, "-court." Ruby managed a brief smile before stumbling forward. She quickly regained her balance and awkwardly giggled.

Winter brought her attention back to Weiss. "I have business with the general and your headmaster. But, seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?"

"Really?" Weiss was beginning to get excited again.

"Yes, I wish to inspect them and make sure they're up to my personal standards."

"Of course." The two began making their way over to the school, being followed by the androids. "Just so you know, the bunk beds only _look_ unstable."

"Bunk... beds?"

"I'll catch up-wait, uh..." Ruby being Ruby, it was difficult to keep up formalities. "I mean, I will... reconvene with you both at a later... juncture!" She seemed proud of herself for a split second as she "gracefully" walked away. "At a juncture, yeah."

As Weiss and Winter walked through the courtyard, a black-haired man staggered behind two of the Atlesian Knights and dismantled them with ease, the racket catching the Schnees' attention. "Hey!" the man called. Winter gave him an ice-cold stare. "Yeah, I'm talkin' to you, Ice Queen." He tossed one of the soldiers aside.

"Halt!" Winter ordered. The AKs behind her stood still as Weiss headed over to the drunk, her heels clicking as it made contact with the concrete.

"Excuse me," she stood in front of the man. He reeked of booze. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

The man put his hand on her forehead to silence her and dragged out a shush. "Not you," he said, pushing her aside. His crimson eyes were focused on Winter Schnee as he took a few steps forward.

"Hey!"

The two glared at each other. "You," he declared. As a crow began cawing, he continued. "Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. I guess you're here too."

"I'm standing right before you," Winter stated firmly.

The man leaned forward slightly and squinted at her as if he couldn't see. He smiled in a mocking manner. "So it would seem."

"You realize you just destroyed Atlas Military property?"

"Ohhhh." His eyes widened as he looked down at the robotic parts scattered around him. "I'm sorry," he said sarcastically. "See, I mistook this for some sort of... sentient garbage." The mocking smile returned, rewarding him with a dark glare.

"I don't have time for your immature games, _Qrow,_ " Winter bellowed.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Weiss asked.

"Geez, you Atlas specialists think you're so special, don't you?" Qrow uttered in vexation.

"It's in the title," Winter retorted.

"Well, you know what you really are? A buncha sellouts. Just like your boss." Considering his tone of voice and the expression of a cocky troublemaker on his face, it was pretty clear he was picking a fight, and he sure as hell knew he was picking a fight with.

"I'm not sure what you _think_ you're implying, but _I've heard **enough**_." Winter struggled to keep her tone of voice under control.

"Oh, I heard too." Qrow continued his instigating. "I heard ol' Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin."

"Ozpin?"

"Weiss, it's time for you to go," Winter said, pushing her sister behind her.

"What?"

"Listen to big sister, Weiss," Qrow said sardonically. "She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is gonna protect all of us, huh?" He stumbled backward but kept his balance.

"If you won't hold your tongue," Winter pulled out her sword, "I will gladly remove it for you."

The crowd of students surrounding the two began "ooh"ing. "All right, then." Qrow swiped back his hair. "Come and take it." In a second, Winter was in front of him. She thrust her sword through the air as Qrow dodged all of her attacks. He bowed as she brought her sword down; it collided with his own and he grabbed the hilt. After pressing the trigger, he swung it out with an arrogant smile on his face, and the fight continued.

"What's going on?!" Ruby cried, running over beside Weiss.

"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" Weiss explained, pointing towards the battle.

"Oh no!" Ruby covered her mouth, turning to look at the apparent assailant. "Who would do such a th- _aaaat is my uncle_!" She squealed and jumped in excitement.

"What?!"

"Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!"

"Uhh, teach him respect, Winter!"

"What a surprise to see him here," a female murmured from behind Ruby. The redhead spun around to see a brunette covering her head with a fur hood. She chuckled with a smirk, keeping her eyes on the huntsman.

"Lilah!" Ruby squealed even louder, giving the brunette a bear hug. "It's been so long since I've seen you!"

"You know her, too?!" Weiss asked in disbelief. "The infamous Lilah Branwen?"

"She's my cousin!" Ruby beamed happily

"What-?!"

"We're not cousins," Lilah stated dully. She pushed her off and crossed her arms.

"You're Qrow's daughter! Of course you are!"

" _Adopted_."

"Oh, that doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does."

"Hey!" Weiss pushed Ruby aside and stood in front of Lilah, pointing over to Qrow. "If he's your dad, then tell him to stop!"

"No."

"Why not?!"

Lilah got into Weiss' face. "I'm not taking orders from a spoiled brat, that's why."

"Oooohhh..." Ruby looked back and forth between the two.

"Oh, shut it, Ruby!" the heiress snapped. The three turned back to the fight after hearing a booming crash; the ground beneath Qrow's weapon was demolished, and Winter was up in the air.

"Ooh, this is getting good," Lilah commented as Winter landed off to the side in the dirt.

Qrow dashed after her and swung his sword as she dodged, slicing a pole in two. Winter settled on the ground behind him and the huntsman whirled around, sending an immediate attack. She once again leaped into the air and jumped onto his sword. Qrow turned his head and she smirked as she flipped backward and made a hit to his jaw.

"Oh, damn!"

Qrow threw his sword at Winter and she dodged. The blade pierced metal pole with ease, and Winter landed atop of one of the street lights. The raven grabbed a hold of his weapon and it transformed into a gun. He fired at her. The shot missed as she wedged her sword into the concrete structure before running along it. Qrow followed and continued firing at her.

Ruby watched in excitement as he jumped onto a parallel edifice and resumed his bombardment, the last shots being a combination of Water and Burn Dust bullets, which created Steam Dust. Qrow stood, staring into the mist. He kept his guard up, his grip on his weapon tightening; she could attack at any moment, and attack she did.

Winter leaped out of the cloud of steam with a shout, her sword in front of her, ready to strike. She pressed a small switch on the hilt and it opened, revealing a second sword. With her twin swords held firmly, the blades collided with Qrow's with such force that the platform crumbled and the two shot toward the ground, creating a large crater in the ground.

Students began backing away as the fight returned to the courtyard. Winter blocked Qrow's charge and sent him flying back. The school's walkway became even more leveled as his sword ripped through the ground, quickly bringing him to a halt. With a confident, yet provocative smile, he got into a fighting stance, bringing up his guard for his opponent's next move.

Winter spun one of her swords and got down on one knee, resting her sword's tip on the ground. A large, white glyph appeared underneath her and a swarm of tiny white Nevermores circled around her, going after Qrow momentarily. The summoned Grimm spiraled around him as he swung his sword in an attempt to get them off.

Winter's boastful smirk faded once Qrow sent a shockwave towards her, causing the glyph as well as the Grimm to disappear. She scowled. Another glyph formed behind her as she held out her twin swords.

The gears on Qrow's weapon began to whirl and the blade separated into four parts, rotating to form a crescent. To the students' disappointment, the action suddenly reversed and the Huntsman set his blade onto his back. He motioned for Winter to continue, and, despite her confusion, went on with her attack. She was launched forward, her sword up front as Qrow stood there as if nothing were happening. At the last moment, a strong voice spoke up.

"Schnee!"

Winter stopped in her tracks and, recognizing the voice, turned around and lowered her weapons. "General Ironwood, sir!" she said.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" Ironwood demanded with his hands folded behind his back. A young girl with orange hair looked on in concern.

"He started the altercation, sir."

"That's actually not true," Qrow chimed in, his hands resting behind his head. "She attacked first."

"Is that right?" Ironwood glanced over to Winter, who offered no sort of defense towards herself. He brought his attention to Qrow. "And you." The raven pointed at himself, nonverbally questioning who he was talking to as the general approached him. "What are you doing here?" Ironwood asked, keeping his voice low so none of the nearby students could hear.

"I could be asking you the same thing."

"I-"

"Now, now everyone." Lilah turned towards the voice and saw Ozpin walking over, Glynda by his side. "There is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the colosseum that I can assure you has better seats. And popcorn," he added with a smile and a swirl of his cup of hot cocoa.

"Break it up, everyone!" Glynda yelled at the squabbling students. "We'll take care of his mess."

"Let's go," Ironwood said as he and Winter began walking, followed by a small cluster of Altesian Knights and Penny Polendina.

Ruby, now out of the crowd, waved to Penny and she waved back. Ruby then ran over to Qrow as Weiss and Lilah watched. "Uncle Qrow!" she squealed, clinging onto his arm. "Hi." Qrow raised his arm horizontally as Ruby swung around in excitement. "Ahh, it's so good to see you! Did you miss me?! Did you miss me?!"

"Nope," Qrow replied jokingly, ruffling his niece's hair.

"Qrow," Ozpin said. Qrow dropped his arm and Ruby hit the ground with a grunt. Glynda used her Semblance of telekinesis to repair the damage of the fight. "A word, please."

Ruby got to her feet and Qrow leaned over. "I think I'm in trouble," he said quietly.

"You did kinda tear up our courtyard," Ruby said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I did." Qrow held out his fist and the two exchanged a fist pump. "Catch you later, kid." As he began to follow Ozpin and Glynda, Lilah quickly caught up to him.

Directed to the short brunette, Ruby whined, "Aww, leaving so soon? I wanted to talk to you more..."

"And I don't."

"That was mean..." Ruby murmured as Weiss walked over with her arms crossed.

"And suddenly your recklessness makes sense," she said.

"You're just mad 'cause he whooped butt."

"That was a draw at best!"

Ironwood stood impatiently with his arms crossed. Winter paced back and forth in front of Ozpin's desk as the elevator doors slid open, revealing Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, and Lilah, who was standing almost completely behind the headmaster, eyeing the general and his comrade warily; she had never come into contact with either of them before, which gave her the urge to leave. But, since Ozpin and Qrow were there, she decided to stay due to her lack of trust in anyone else.

"What were you thinking?!" Winter inquired harshly, her icy blue eyes narrowing in a glare.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot," Ironwood stated, holding out a clenched fist.

"If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself," Qrow retorted. Lilah muffled a snicker as she followed Ozpin to his desk where she stood next to him.

"While I wouldn't condone his behavior," said Glynda as she folded her arms over her chest, "retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation."

"He was drunk!" Winter exclaimed.

"He's always drunk!"

The several pairs of eyes in the room moved to Qrow, who was taking a drink from his flask. Once noticing the stares he was getting, Qrow lowered his booze-filled container and shrugged. Ozpin let out a heavy sigh and sat down. "Qrow, why are you here?" he questioned slowly.

"You've been out of contact for weeks!" Ironwood insisted in an almost booming tone; he was clearly very vexed. "You can't just go dark like that in the field."

"I'm not one of your special operatives, _Jimmy_."

" _General_ ," Winter corrected as she grit her teeth.

"Whatever." Qrow turned back to Ironwood. "You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you our enemy is _here_."

Ironwood leaned against Ozpin's desk. "We know."

"Oh! Oh, you know?" Qrow said sarcastically, irritation written all over his face. "Well, thank goodness I'm out there risking _my life_ to keep _you all **informed**_."

"Qrow!"

"Communication's a two-way street, pal." The raven pulled out his scroll. "You see this?" He pointed to a button on the lower part of the screen. "That's the _send_ button."

"They had reason to assume you'd been compromised," Winter uttered.

"And _I_ have reason to assume _you don't need to be here_ ," Qrow retorted sharply, now gesturing towards her while looking at the others. "Seriously, who invited her?"

"Schnee, we'll discuss this back on my ship," Ironwood said to the white-haired female.

"But, sir-"

"Winter," he interrupted. "Leave."

She obeyed and saluted him. "Yes, sir." She made her way to the elevator, briefly stopping by Qrow's side and glaring. Lilah was almost content once the elevator doors shut. _Almost_.

Ironwood put his focus back on Qrow. "Go on."

"Your little infiltrator isn't just another pawn," he continued. "They're the one's responsible for Autumn's condition." He opened his flask again and took a few sips.

"What?" Glynda said in disbelief.

"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers or generals or headmasters. "The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about." Qrow approached Ironwood. "It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me, James: when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet or did you just not give a damn?"

Ironwood took out his own scroll. "Discreet wasn't working," he said, placing his scroll on the desk. A hologram of the academy and its surroundings appeared in the center of the room, and he began walking toward it. "I'm here because this is what was necessary."

"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here!" Qrow bellowed. "He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us."

"And I am grateful."

"Oh well, you got a pretty funny way of showing it."

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them, someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies feel our strength."

Qrow laughed. "You-you think they're scared of your little _ships_? I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made and let me tell you... _they **are** fear_."

Ozpin stood up. "And fear will bring the Grimm," he added solemnly. "A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds: if this is the size of our defenses, what is it we're expecting to fight?"

Ironwood remained silent for a moment before retrieving his scroll and taking a few steps away. With his back turned to them, he asked, "So then, what would you suggest we do?"

"I suggest we find our guardian."


	2. II

"You'll never beat me, old man!"

"Heh, you're nothin' but talk, kid."

"You can do it, Ruby!"

"Do I have to be here?"

Lilah was leaning against the wall in the far corner of the room, watching Qrow playing a fighting game with his nieces.

" _Soaring Ninja wins! Total annihilation!_ "

"Ouch..." Yang mumbled as Ruby lowered her head in defeat.

"By the way," Qrow said as he turned to her, "don't _ever_ call me 'old'. And Lilah." He glanced over to the sulking girl. "Do I have to force you to have fun every once in a while?"

"I guess so," Lilah grumbled.

"Here!" Ruby offered her scroll with a grin. "Have a turn."

"Nope!" Yang tackled her, stealing her scroll once her little sister lost her grip on it. The blonde sat down next to Qrow with a beam. "My turn!"

" _New challenger approaches!_ "

"Now, where was I?" Qrow wondered aloud.

Ruby popped up behind him. "You were telling us about your last mission!"

"Right, right." The raven nodded. "I come across a small village in the swamps west of Mistral. Right off the bat, I knew something wasn't right."

"What were you doing there?" Ruby asked. She was completely into his story, as if it was the best thing she's heard in ages.

"Drinking, probably," Lilah said.

Qrow chuckled before continuing. "I needed information. Tired from battling Grimm along the way, I decided to start my search at the town's inn."

"For a drink."

"The place was crawling with lowlifes and thugs, even a few Huntsmen I could only assume had been hired by less than reputable people for less than respectable jobs. And that's when it happened."

"What happened?" Yang asked.

"He got drunk," Lilah said.

Qrow did his best to ignore her. "I was defeated... by the mere sight... of the innkeeper's skirt length!" 

" _Soaring Ninja wins!_ " Yang threw a pillow with a dog face at her uncle. " _Total annihilation!_ "

"You are the worst!" Yang yelled angrily as he and Ruby laughed. Lilah didn't seem to find it funny.

"It would've been funnier if Lilah over there hadn't kept trying to ruin my _perfectly good joke!_ " Qrow looked over to Lilah, who remained as dull as ever. "No laugh, eh? You're boring."

"You've told me that joke how many times now?" Lilah asked.

"You didn't even laugh the first time I told you."

"So, Uncle Qrow," Ruby said, "did you get in trouble with Ozpin?"

"Nah, me and Oz go _way_ back," Qrow replied. "We're cool."

"Cool for an old guy," Yang scoffed.

Qrow scowled. " _Not_ funny."

"Hey, so, what are you doing here anyway?" Ruby inquired, cocking her head to the side. "I thought Dad said you'd be on a mission for, like... ever."

" _Ready! Fight!_ "

"Well, a _professional_ Huntsman like myself is expected to get results, as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I get that, heh. We're pretty much pros, too," she boasted.

"Oh, really?"

"Pssh, yeah!" Yang said. "Read the news sometime! We totally saved Vale while you were gone."

"Funny," Qrow stated, "because I heard Vale suffered a Grimm attack after you _almost_ managed to stop a train."

" _Soaring Ninja wins!_ " Yang frowned and slammed her fists down. " _Total annihilation!_ "

"But they don't give out medals for 'almost'."

"They do, and they're called silver!" Ruby said.

"Well, we helped take down Roman Torchwick," Yang went on. "He's locked up in Ironwood's ship and crime's been down ever since. That's basically a bounty mission."

"Sure, you may be acting like Huntresses, but you're not _thinking_ like one," Qrow uttered. "You really think four girls and their friends can end all crime in a Kingdom?"

"Well, I did until you said that..." Ruby mumbled, fiddling with her fingers quietly.

"Violence hasn't dropped since Roman got nabbed." The Huntsman turned back to his nieces. "It stopped. Completely. No White Fang activity anywhere around the city. You cut off the head of a King Taijitu, but now the second head's calling the shots. That's what Ironwood can't get through that thick metal head of his." His eyes narrowed as he looked down.

"You..." Yang looked at Ruby and back to Qrow, "...know the general?"

"Hey, I know everybody to some extent. Remember, you're talkin' to a member of the coolest team to ever graduate Beacon." Qrow pulled out an old photo and held it in front of Yang. Her eyes widened slightly, noticing a woman in the photo who had the same face and hair style as her. Beside her was Qrow, and on her right side was a blonde man, Taiyang, and next to him was a woman who looked exactly like Ruby, covered in a long white cloak.

Qrow let out a soft sigh. "Team STRQ," he said, moving his thumb to cover his twin's face. "That's when I met your parents. We were _pretty_ well-known back in the day."

Lilah found herself peeking over. Now that it was on her mind, she never met his old teammates, but then again, she didn't see herself wanting to.

"Well-known for crummy fashion sense," Ruby joked.

"Hey! We looked good!" Qrow countered with a smirk. "And I have a number of inappropriate stories to back that up." He flicked the picture up, noticing Yang was staring at it in an almost trance-like state. " _But_ ," he got to his feet, "I'll save those for when you're older."

"Ew, gross!" Ruby cackled.

Qrow placed the picture into his back pocket. "Anyways, I'm too old to be hanging out with a bunch of kids," he said, walking to the door. "You're gonna cramp my style." He stopped as his expression became more grave. "Look, just remember that you've still got a long way to go." The raven quickly turned around and added, "And don't think for a second that graduating means you're done. Everyday out there is worth a week in this place. You two, you're gonna go far, but only if you keep learning, if you never stop moving forward." He walked out of the room and Lilah stood up without a word. Her fingers began to tremble; she tucked them under her arms.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked in concern. She stood up as well.

"You look kinda pale," Yang said.

"Yes, I'm fine." Lilah felt a tingling sensation gradually spread throughout her body. "I just have yet to eat is all."

"If you want, we have some snacks here," Ruby offered. She pulled out a candy bar.

"No thanks," Lilah declined, turning towards the door. "I already have something with Ozpin." She made her way out the door, but was stopped by Ruby, who had her by the shoulder.

"Why don't you ever talk to us?" she asked. "Did we do something wrong?"

"I have my reasons," the brunette stated. Before Ruby could say anything, she darted down the hall in the opposite direction of Qrow.

Ozpin sat as his desk calmly looking out the window, his hands folded together in front of him. The elevator doors opened and Qrow walked out, holding a mug similar to the one on the headmasters desk. "You know," he said, "he's making you look like a fool."

"His heart is in the right place," Ozpin said. "He's just... _misguided_."

"Sometimes I'm not even sure he has a heart." Qrow took a sip of his coffee-booze mixed beverage. "So, have you chosen your guardian yet?"

"Maidens choose themselves." Ozpin turned around in his chair to face the other. "I simply believe I've found the right candidate. Ever since the day I've met her, I had a feeling she would be the one. She's strong, intelligent, caring, and most importantly... she's ready."

A scroll laid open on the ground, shattered into pieces in the middle of the Emerald Forest. Articles of clothing were scattered around it - a pair of pants, a shirt, bra, panties, a wristband, and a headband.

The soft yet rough breaths of a Beowolf could be heard a short distance away, up in a tree. And in the tree was, in fact, an Alpha Beowolf. Around its neck was a golden thick-chained necklace, decorated with a cut amethyst.

The Beowolf jumped to the ground, standing on its hind legs and growling, seemingly angry as it glanced upward, spotting a Creep about ten feet away, hiding in the bushes. In one swift move, the Beowolf tore it apart - literally - and the small Grimm laid on the ground in pieces before it had time to react.

A black fog emerged from the Grimm, and the other howled.

Ozpin sat at his desk with his hands folded neatly in front of him. In the seat parallel to him was the red-haired star student Pyrrha Nikos. Her hands laid on her lap as she looked the headmaster in the eye. "Well, it comes as no surprise that they've chosen you to move onto the final round of the tournament," Ozpin commented. "Your performance has been exemplary."

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I would never have made it this far without my teammates," Pyrrha replied thoughtfully.

"Personally, I think it's the other way around." Pyrrha turned around, spotting a dark-haired man leaning against a pillar. His arms were crossed and his stare was almost cold.

Pyrrha stood and faced him. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Name's Qrow."

"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine," Ozpin informed.

"Professor, if you don't mind me asking," Pyrrha said as she turned around, "why have you called me here?"

"Please, take a seat." Ozpin gestured over to the fancy-looking chair next to her. Once she sat down, he asked a question that would seem pointless to onlookers: "What is your favorite fairy tale?" He leaned back in his chair and waited patiently for an answer.

Pyrrha raised a brow, cocking her head slightly. "I'm... sorry?"

"Fairy tales. Stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them."

"Well..." The redhead thought for a moment. "There's the tale about the two brothers; The Shallow Sea; The girl in the tower-"

"What about the story of the seasons?" Ozpin leaned over, supporting himself with his elbows.

"Oh, of course!" She smiled as she recalled the story. "A callous old man who refuses to leave his home is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his garden. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister begs him to look at all that he has and be thankful.

In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens with incredible powers so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant until the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall - the four maidens. My mother loves that story."

"Would you believe me if I told you that one was around since I was a boy?" Ozpin asked.

Pyrrha laughed softly. "You're not _that_ old, professor."

"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?" His gaze quickly set a serious tone as Pyrrha looked around nervously before looking back at him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"What if I were to tell you that there _were_ four maidens existing in this world that could wield such tremendous power _without Dust_?"

"You mean like... a Semblance?"

"Like magic."

"I-"

"Yeah, first time hearing, it's pretty crazy," Qrow said.

"You're serious?" Pyrrha was in disbelief as she brought her attention back to Ozpin.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" he questioned.

"...No." She remained silent for a moment. "Why-Why are you telling me this?" Although she was anxious and confused, she kept her calm as best as she could.

Ozpin glanced at Qrow, and the other nodded his head. The professor looked back at the student in front of him and took a deep breath. "We're telling you, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe that you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers."

Her eyes widened and her mouth was agape. She then cocked her head again. "We?" Just as she said that, the elevator dinged and the doors open. She turned around to see General Ironwood and Glynda Goodwitch.

"Sorry we're late," Ironwood apologized, fixing his tie. Glynda adjusted her glasses.

"Wait, what is this?" Pyrrha turned to Ozpin. "Who are you?"

"You know who we are," Glynda said kindly. "We're still the same teachers and headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon."

" 'Cept we got a little part-time job," Qrow added.

"We are the protectors of this world," Ironwood said.

"And we need your help," Ozpin finished. His expression may have been grim, but there was that small speck of sadness in his eyes that never faltered.

The five of them stood in the elevator. Pyrrha looked back and forth between them anxiously as she held her arms close to her chest. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"The vault," Ozpin replied. "Under the school." The doors slid open and he walked out, followed by Ironwood, Glynda, and Qrow. Pyrrha stood there silently, taking in her surroundings before walking at a slow pace. Glynda looked back at her and waited for her to catch up.

"I'm sure you must have questions," she said.

"Maybe one or two," Pyrrha murmured as the two began walking through the large dimly lit hallway. It was impossible to see what lied at the end as all they could see was darkness. It was kind of intimidating. "I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the Maiden's power. What do you mean by that?"

"The Maidens have existed for thousands of years," Goodwitch explained. "But, much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost and that no individual can hold onto the power forever."

"So how does the power choose?"

"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules," Qrow answered, hunched over with his hands in his pockets like a grumpy old man.

"Qrow!" Glynda snapped.

"Hey, don't get mad 'cause I'm right."

Glynda brought her attention back to Pyrrha and have her a proper answer. "At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed onto young women, but as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more... _intimate_."

"In...timate?" Pyrrha repeated.

"As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who was in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power."

"Unless it's a dude or some old hag," Qrow chimed in. It was like the thought annoyed him to death. "Then the power goes to someone random and our jobs get a lot harder."

"Why tell me all of this now?" the redhead questioned. "Why not wait until I've graduated?"

"Honestly, we've run out of time," the crow said. "I don't know if you've noticed but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high. Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent, and it's not gonna be much longer before this peace we've all been enjoying so much goes _out the window_."

"You're not..." Pyrrha paused, "talking about war?"

"Not a war between nations," Ironwood said.

"We can fill you in on the details once we know you're with us," Qrow informed. "For now, all you really need to know is that one of the Maidens was attacked, and for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen."

The five of them walked up to a large machine with two human-sized pods at either end. In one of those pods was a young girl. She was tan with short brown hair. Her eyes were closed, looking as if she was sleeping. She seemed all right, besides the scar covering the left half of her face. "Is that...?"

Ozpin let out a sigh. "The current Fall Maiden," he said. "Amber."

"She's... still alive," Pyrrha said. The woman's chest slowly moved, giving everyone the assurance she was still alive.

"For now," Ironwood said. "We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable, but there is a lot about this situation which is unprecedented."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we don't know what'll happen if-" he corrected himself, "- _when_ she passes."

"Won't her power just transfer to the next host?" Pyrrha asked.

"Look who's been listening!" Qrow said. He whispered to Ozpin, "She _is_ smart."

"Under normal circumstances, yes, but this is a delicate situation," the general uttered. "It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be that of their attacker, and to make matters worse, no one's ever seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half."

"Her assailant," Pyrrha said quietly.

"And that would not bode well with any of us." Ozpin turned around to face her.

Pyrrha looked down for a few moments before walking over to the pod. She placed her hand on the glass and kept her gaze on the Maiden. "If all of this is true, why keep it secret?" She turned around. "If this girl is so important, if-if we're truly on the brink of war, why not tell everyone?"

"From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge," Glynda stated.

"Excuse me?"

"How do you think legends and fairy tales are started?" Qrow asked, taking the cap off of his flask. "Even the craziest ones come from somewhere." He took several long sips.

"Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the Maidens," Glynda continued. "Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength."

Qrow lowered his flask. "And as you can imagine," he went on, "the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the kind of people you'd want to have unimaginable power."

"And so this brotherhood chose to remove the Maidens from the public eye," Ironwood said. "Allowing their existence to fade away into legend."

"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history, religion," Goodwitch said.

"No one would want to believe us," Ironwood resumed. "It would cause an uproar."

"It would cause panic," Ozpin said, "and we all know what _that_ would bring clawing to our kingdom's walls." He averted his gaze with the same faint sadness in his eyes as before. "Which is why we'd like to-"

"I'll do it," Pyrrha said. "If you believe this will help humanity, then I will become your Fall Maiden."

The Beowolf remained still in the shadows, staring at the black-haired Huntsman before it. Its crimson eyes narrowed as it bared its fangs.

"Sorry, kiddo," Qrow said, his hands in his pockets. "I would'a come sooner but... something came up." The Grimm lunged at him, swiping its claws. Qrow dodged with ease and ushered it to relax. "Hey, hey, calm down..." he said softly, raising a hand to keep it at bay. The Grimm simply stood there and glared, bellowing quietly.

"I know it hurts, but-"

The Beowolf attacked once more, and the Huntsman pulled out his weapon to block the strike. He was fully capable of killing it, but he had perfect reason not to.

"You're not making this any easier, y'know." Qrow reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe with an oddly-colored substance inside. "I'll make this quick." He gave a weary sigh.

The Grimm swatted at him and, once he dodged, went at him again, and again, and again.

Qrow sensed some hesitation with each attempted strike. He fought back, trying his hardest to avoid injuring it too badly. His opponent proved to be intelligent as it bolted left and right and quickly yet carefully placed its attacks, eventually succeeding in landing a hit as it grabbed ahold of Qrow and pushed him into a rocky wall.

The wind was knocked out of him as he gasped for air. Swiftly, he pierced its shoulder with the needle and injected the fluid into it. The Grimm howled and threw him aside, but the crow was able to stand his ground. In a matter of seconds, the Beowolf became still before collapsing.

Qrow let out a huge sigh of relief as he sat down next to the creature, removing his cape and draping it over it. Momentarily, the Beowolf began to mutate, it became smaller and smaller until it formed into the bare body of that of a human girl. She did look human, aside from her large Beowolf ears and tail. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and she glanced at Qrow with a groggy expression.

"You know, Lilah, you shouldn't have run off like that," he said. "I was nearby; you could've told me you were about to transform."

"What did you expect?" Lilah asked. Her voice was raspy like she hadn't had water in days. "You're nieces were right there. I don't need them getting in my business."

"If you tried to get to know them better, maybe you'd see that they aren't like _him_."

"...You're starting to sound like Ozzy." She rolled over on her side, her back facing him as she clutched onto the red cape acting as a cover-up.


	3. III

Ozpin exhaled wearily, his gaze fixed on Qrow walking through the elevator doors with Lilah on his back, now fully clothed. Her black jacket was draped over her shoulders and her hood was on her head. Qrow held onto her headband and bracelets. Her eyes were barely open as she forced herself to stay awake. "I'm very sorry," the headmaster apologized.

"Don't be," Lilah muttered quietly. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on Qrow's.

"She wants to stay in here," the crow said. "Wouldn't budge unless I agreed."

"Does she not like her dorm?" Ozpin questioned with a soft chuckle.

"Eh, she's more comfortable with either you or me. But I'm going to have a little... _chat_ with Yang, so she wants to stay with you."

"If that is what she wants, I won't complain."

"You can talk to me, y'know..." Lilah mumbled, lightly nudging Qrow's leg with her foot. "You can put me down now."

"All right, princess," Qrow said humorously as he set her down. She stumbled her way over to Ozpin and leaned against his shoulder and the chair's armrest. He stood and helped her sit down.

"Thank you, Qrow," Ozpin said.

"No problem," the Huntsman replied. "Now if you'll excuse me-" he tossed Lilah's headband and bracelets to the other, "-I'll be on my way." He spun around on his heel and headed to the elevator.

James Ironwood stood before the four girls of Team RWBY. The air was tense as they addressed the situation. "I'm sorry," the general said with his hands folded together. "But you've left us with no choice."

"But he attacked me!" Yang couldn't help but defend herself. She saw Mercury attack her, so she attacked back to defend herself. She didn't know why she was getting all the blame, but video footage is never wrong.

"Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise," Ironwood affirmed, slowly pacing back and forth as he spoke. 

"But Yang would never do that!" Weiss said.

"Yeah!" Ruby stood up, and Yang hung her head with a sigh.

"You all seem like good students," Ironwood said, turning to face them. "And the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did. Under normal circumstances. But I believe, and hope this to be, is nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there." He took a glance at Yang. "Even after the fight has passed."

"But I wasn't-"

"That's **_enough_**!" he yelled. He quickly regained his composure and continued. "The sad truth is... whether it was an accident, or an assault... it doesn't matter. The world saw you attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions. And it's my job to inform you that..." he almost hesitated to go on, "... you're disqualified."

The girls remained silent, clearly upset about the news. Ironwood exited the room without another word.

"You guys believe me... right?" The blonde raised her head, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Duh!" Ruby said.

Weiss added, "You're hotheaded, but not ruthless."

Yang looked over at the brunette, who sat silently. "...Blake?"

Blake lowered her head. Weiss and Ruby exchanged glances to each other and looked back at the Faunus. "I want to believe you," the cat muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Ruby was in disbelief.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" the heiress demanded.

"Blake?" Yang squinted slightly as her eyes began to tear up.

"How can you say something like that?!" Weiss inquired loudly, her eyes narrowing in anger. "Yang would _never_ lie to us!"

Blake looked at her and sighed before bringing her gaze to the ground once more. "I had someone very dear to me change," she said. "It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual... Little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry." She paused. "At first, they were accidents... then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right. This is all just... very... familiar. But you're not him. And you've never done anything like this before. So... I want to trust you. I _will_ trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me _he_ attacked _you_. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did."

Yang wiped her eyes, and with a sniff, she said, "I saw him attack me. So I attacked back."

"Okay." Blake gave her a soft smile. "Thank you."

"I think I'm gonna rest up."

"We'll get out of your hair." Blake, Weiss, and Ruby walked out of the room and shut the door.

"This is a mess." Weiss shook her head as her brows furrowed.

Jaune opened his door as he and the rest of his team looked at the three. They were all genuinely concerned. "She doing okay?" he asked.

"She's doing the best she can," Blake replied dolefully.

"I heard Mercury and his team rushed back to Haven to be with his family," Ruby said. "So, until they land, no one can really question him about what happened."

"If there's anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask," Ren insisted.

"All right, then... If that's the case..." Ruby looked up at the redhead who just sat down on one of the beds. "Pyrrha?"

"Hmm?"

"You be sure to win one for Beacon, okay?" the silver-eyed girl said cheerfully.

"It's what Yang would want." Weiss smiled as well.

Pyrrha looked away for a moment. When she looked back, she also had a smile on her face. "I'll do my best."

"I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you're picked!" Ruby said.

Blake turned to Weiss. "Sorry, but I think I've had enough fighting for one year."

"Ditto. Coffee?"

"Tea."

The three walked off, and Jaune closed his door.

" _All right, it is now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!_ " Oobleck declared.

Ozpin poured himself a cup of hot cocoa as he stood by his desk, waiting for the fight to begin. Lilah snored softly, curled up in his chair.

" _It looks like our first contender is..._ " Port paused and waited for the panels to stop, " _Penny Polendina from Atlas! And her opponent will be..._ " he paused once more, " _Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!_ "

Lilah's hood twitched and fell back, revealing large, furry, black ears, resembling a wolf's. Her now red eyes slowly opened and she peeked at the screen, eyeing the two redheads shown.

"Ah, you're finally awake," Ozpin said. "I was beginning to wonder if you would sleep through all of the finals."

"Haha, very funny," Lilah grumbled, straightening her posture. Her eyes slowly faded from crimson to lavender. Her ears folded back and her eyes narrowed, keeping her gaze on the screen.

"Is something the matter?" Ozpin inquired.

"I just... have a bad feeling..." She remained silent for a few moments before standing. "I'm going to head down there and check it out personally."

Ozpin simply nodded, making no attempt to stop her as she took her missing accessories from the desk and headed for the elevator. "All I ask of you is to keep your guard up."

"You got it."

Ruby stared at the gray-haired male in front of her, confusion in her eyes. "Mercury... what are you doing?" she asked. "You were hurt! Why...? What's going on?"

Mercury gave no reply. Instead, he smirked.

Ruby glared. "Fine. If you're not going to tell me..." She stepped aside, and the other did the same. With every action she made, he copied.

" _Fighters, are you ready?_ " Oobleck's voice rang through the stadium. The crowd began to cheer.

"Showtime," Mercury said.

Ruby frantically tried to find an opening to get past him, but he imitated her. Ruby shot forward in a red spiral of rose petals. Mercury did a three sixty and threw her back with a powerful kick to the abdomen. Once she landed on the ground, she pulled out her scroll. Mercury, on the other hand, shot a bullet from his foot and knocked it out of her hands.

"Let's just keep this between us _friends_ ," he said, smirking once more.

Ruby tried racing past him again. To her dismay, he swung his foot down onto her head, smashing her face into the ground. She let out a painful grunt as he kicked her back. He raised his leg to shoot a bullet, but suddenly, something smashed into his leg, turning it to ice. It didn't take long for him to realize it was a Dust bullet. He turned his head and sighed.

Lilah stood behind him, one of her weapons raised. She held twin swords. The blades were a bronze color. It made a sharp forty-five degree angle about a fourth up the blade. At the angle was a hole: the barrel of the gun hidden inside her sword. Hanging from the handle was a short, thick chain.

"Lilah...?" Ruby muttered, releasing a soft sigh of relief.

"Looks like I came just in time," the brunette said, her aim on Mercury not faltering. "Care to explain what's going on here?"

"Here comes Wisteria to the rescue," Mercury taunted, stomping hard enough to shatter the ice.

Lilah paused for a moment. "You must be mistaking me for someone else," she said. "Now explain to me what's going on, Mercury Black."

He cackled to himself as he turned around. "I was told your intuition was outstanding! But I guess he was wrong."

Lilah glared daggers at him.

"I don't need to explain anything to you," Mercury said, "but what I _will_ say is this round will be the end of it."

It was like she was there in the blink of an eye; Lilah stood in front of him, her blade raised to his throat. "Tell me what's going on," she demanded in an eerily calm manner.

Mercury didn't back away or even flinch. "If you want to waste your time on me, go right ahead."

Ruby's eyes widened. "We have to stop the fight!" she cried, jumping to her feet. "Penny! She-" The small girl yelped in pain as Mercury spun around and sent a bullet flying towards her, all the while holding Lilah's threatening hand down.

Lilah quickly got him into a choke hold and hovered her other sword over his chest. She looked at Ruby. "Go. I'll keep him busy." Ruby didn't hesitate to run off.

Mercury forced her sword away and flipped upward, attempting to land a kick on the back of her head. Lilah blocked it with her blade and sent him flying. He landed on the wall and darted right back at her. The brunette jumped over him and shot a few Dust bullets. They hit the ground and turned a small portion of it to ice. She stabbed her sword into the wall and swung to the side, just barely missing his aerial roundhouse kick. The two landed on the ground simultaneously just as the sound of the audience gasping caught their ears.

Mercury suppressed a laugh as Lilah glowered. "What the hell happened?!" she bellowed.

"Go take a look for yourself."

Lilah jumped up and ripped her second sword from the wall, darting down the hall in the direction Ruby went. Mercury followed close behind.

She ran through the last doorway and froze, watching Ruby weeping on the ground. She looked up to the stage.

The stage lowered as Pyrrha, horrified, gaped at the scene before her: Penny Polendina was torn apart, lying on the ground, her pieces scattered around her.

"What..." Lilah couldn't wrap her head around what she was seeing.

_Penny's a robot?_

She brought her attention back to Ruby with a sad gaze as realization hit her; polarity versus metal.

_That's why she was so desperate to get over here_...

She silently stood next to her, hearing Mercury walk up not too far behind. She could almost hear the smile on his face. What angered her the most was the soft chuckle he let out once he looked at Ruby.

Lilah whipped around, her teeth and fists clenched, but he was gone. She felt herself give up as she sheathed her swords and kneeled down next to the mourning girl. She put a hand on her head - her attempt to comfort her. She wasn't much for talking or being around people, so this was all she could think of to do.

The large screens in the stadium were red, showing a picture of a black Queen chess piece. A female voice echoed.

" _This is_ not _a tragedy. This was_ not _an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your_ children _,_ _to_ _men who claim to be our guardians. But are, in reality..._ nothing more than **men** _. Our Academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies and one was audacious enough to control both._

_They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching_ his _students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with **honor** and **mercy**. Yet I have witnessed **neither**._

_Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps, this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting Kingdom with armed forces._

_Honestly? I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know that the existence of peace is fragile. And the leaders of our Kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you; the situation there is... equally undesirable._

_Our Kingdoms are_ _at_ _the brink of war. Yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you... when the first shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?_ "

The screens went static and a siren blared a few seconds later. 

" _Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner._ "

The entire crowd began panicking and screaming, scrambling to the exits. Ironwood suddenly spoke through the speakers: " _Ladies and gentlemen, please! There is no need for panic._ "

Above the stadium, a Nevermore screeched and clawed at the barrier, the only thing keeping _it_ away from everyone else.

"Dammit..." Lilah growled as she stood. Students ran past her and Ruby like there was no tomorrow as another alert resounded.

" _Warning: safety barriers failing._ "

"Ruby." The brunette nudged the other by her shoulder. "Get up. We gotta go."

Ruby was as still as a statue, still unable to accept the fact that she lost a friend.

Lilah sighed and ran off into the arena. She may have not been much for people, but it was still her job to keep as many people safe as possible, and she could start by making sure everyone got out before the Nevermore broke through.

The Grimm flew in circles like an eagle closing in on its prey.

Pyrrha stood motionless, unable to take her eyes off of Penny.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled from the crowd. "Pyrrha, that thing's going to break in! You gotta move!" He, as well as Nora and Ren, looked up as the barrier cracked and started to fade. The Nevermore flew upward and shot down toward the arena.

"Jaune!" Nora called as the blonde jumped down to the stage and ran as fast as he could to the redhead.

"Pyrrha, please! Snap out of it!"

The barrier shattered and the Nevermore made a swift landing, sending both Jaune and Pyrrha flying. Once it noticed the girl in front of him, it charged. A flash of red corkscrewed toward it with tremendous speed and knocked it back. The Grimm screamed in pain as Ruby landed in front of Pyrrha, wielding one of Penny's swords.

"Ruby?" Pyrrha said.

"Leave her alone!" Little Red cried, holding the blade firmly in front of her with both hands.

The Nevermore jumped up and flew around the two before lowering to the ground to strike. The large, grey lockers of the students suddenly darted downward, forcing it to the ground. The lockers opened, displaying dozens of unique weapons, weapons which each student retrieved. With everyone's help, Yatsuhashi Daichi and Sage Ayana dealt the finishing blow, decapitating the beast in barely any time at all.

"Ruby, I-" Pyrrha's eyes welled with tears. She looked down at a piece of Penny's clothing she had in her hands. "I'm so sorry."

"Me too," Ruby said. "But it wasn't your fault."

"She's right." Jaune walked over, holding Pyrrha's spear and shield. "Whoever was on the microphone, they're the ones that did this." Pyrrha stood and he held out her weapons. "And we have to make sure they don't take anyone else." The redhead took Miló and Akoúo̱ as the rest of the students gathered together.

"Impressive." Everyone brought their gaze over to Lilah. Her swords were drawn and her hood was tied around her waist; of course, she was wearing her headband. "Looks like I don't need to worry about you lot."

Grimm roared from atop the stadium.

"Griffons," Ren said.

"Anybody got a plan of attack?" Neptune asked.

"Sun, I need your scroll," Ruby said. The monkey tossed it to her without question, and she dialed a number. In a split second, another locker landed nearby and opened, revealing Crescent Rose. She ran to grab it, but a Griffon touched down right behind it. There was gunfire, and the Grimm fell back.

"Students, I think it would be best for you to leave." Professor Port and Dr. Oobleck were the center of attention now. Port wielded his blunderbuss-battle-axe and Oobleck with his Thermos.

"But we can fi-"

"Miss Rose," Oobleck interrupted. "This day will surely go down in Remnant's history." He smiled. "I'd prefer it if my students could live to tell about it."

Ruby returned the smile and nodded, grabbing her Crescent Rose. "Let's go!" Her weapon transformed into a scythe and she stood it up next to her with a loud _thud_. She pointed forward, and all the students ran out. Velvet quickly snapped a picture.

"Velvet!" her teammate, Coco, called after her. The rabbit raced to catch up.

Ruby turned over to Lilah. "What will you do?"

"First and foremost, I need to make sure everyone has evacuated," the brunette replied. "After, I'd like to meet up with Ozpin."

Ruby nodded. "Right. Be careful."

"Same to you." Before she could head off, Ruby stopped her.

"When this is all over..." she said, "... could we-"

"I already know what you're going to say," Lilah said. "Yes, just as long as you make it out in one piece."

"Yesss!" Ruby cheered quietly.

Lilah chuckled. "Good luck on the battlefield."

"You too!"

The two dashed off the stage and to the exit.


	4. IV

With the stadium's evacuation completed, Lilah now made her way to Ozpin in the craziest way possible: on the back of a Griffon. She scanned up ahead, spotting two students run out of the tower. With a swift movement, she sliced off the Griffon's head and jumped down in front of them.

"Who are... wait..." Jaune muttered. "Lilah?"

"It didn't work, did it?" she asked.

The two didn't reply.

"Where's Ozpin?"

"He's... encountered the Fall Maiden," Pyrrha replied. Just as she finished, there was a deafening crash coming from inside.

"Get to safety, both of you," Lilah ordered.

"What are you going to do?"

"To help him, of course." She sprinted inside without another word and jumped in the elevator. She shot her gun upward, freezing the top before firing another Dust bullet, shattering it. The elevator began to fall, and she was strong enough to withstand the fall and hop out without a few scratches.

Ozpin was on the ground, bleeding from his head. Above him was Cinder. Flames surrounded her as she smirked, getting ready for a second attack.

"Ozpin!" Lilah screamed. Cinder sent a blast of fire at the headmaster, but a black blur raced by and he disappeared before he was struck. Off to the right was a large, bulky figure standing over the injured Huntsman. It turned its head, revealing menacing crimson eyes. It charged toward her, emitting a ferocious roar as it jumped upward and slashed at her with its claws.

Cinder blocked the attack with her fire and sent it flying into the wall. The Grimm launched itself off and went at her once more. The scene repeated itself as the beast was blinded with rage, until a blazing inferno engulfed it.

Lilah groaned as she slowly opened her eyes, squinting from the light shining through the window.

Her entire body hurt like hell. She almost didn't want to move, but she forgot about the pain when she turned her head. Qrow was sitting at her bedside, silently watching as she struggled to figure out what was going on.

"Glad to see you're finally awake," the Huntsman said. "You took quite a hit back there."

"Ozpin..." Lilah murmured as she attempted to sit up. Her body painfully throbbed and she dropped back down on her pillow. "Where... Where is he...?" She tried to keep herself from getting hysterical, but it couldn't be helped as her eyes welled up with tears at the image of him lying motionless on the ground. "P-Please tell me he's okay."

Qrow gazed at the ground and sighed quietly. "He... He went missing after the attack." It didn't occur to him that she didn't know about Ozpin's little secret; he knew they would be reunited eventually, so he couldn't bring himself to say he was killed and explain his whole story. He felt Ozpin should explain everything himself; it was the least he could do for hiding the truth, from her especially.

Lilah shut her eyes and looked away from him as she cried. "Don't sugarcoat it! He's dead, isn't he?"

Qrow said nothing.

She forced herself up, tears running down her face. Her blanket slid off of her body. She was almost entirely covered in bandages, and all she wore was a tank top and a pair of shorts.

Qrow looked up, her eyes being the first thing he noticed. They were crimson. Her wolf ears were folded back as they twitched - she was clearly pissed. "Please, I know you're upset, but you need to calm down."

"Like hell I'll calm down," she growled under her breath. "That bitch is gonna pay for what she did." She jumped out of bed; her legs trembled, but otherwise had no trouble standing on her own. Her long, black tail violently swayed back and forth.

"Lilah, get a grip!" Qrow snapped. "All you're doing is straining your body. You can't-"

"I don't give a damn about me!" Lilah yelled, whirling around to face him. "She killed him! Sh-She-" The brunette broke down sobbing as she dropped to her knees.

Qrow exhaled and gave her a doleful look.

"What sh-should I have done? I-I don't-" Lilah stumbled over her words as the tears continued to spill. The guilt she felt tortured her; she wasn't any help in that fight.

The crow scooped her up in his arms and sat her on the bed, and he settled next to her with an arm over her shoulder. She hugged him as tight as she could - which wasn't as strong as it would normally be - and wept into his chest. "I should've stayed with him instead of running off to the arena... Then maybe we could've beaten her-"

"It's not your fault," Qrow assured her. "Ozpin would never blame you for it, either. You did your best, and that's all that matters."

The door swung open, and the two glanced over, staring at a blonde man. Lilah's ears went back as far as they could and she curled her tail between her and Qrow, not recognizing the man.

"Are you two all right in here?" he asked. "I heard yelling."

"Everything is fine, Tai," Qrow said. He looked down at Lilah. "Don't need to hide it. He already knows."

" _What_?!" Lilah shrieked.

"I kinda had to tell him," the crow explained. "It was hard enough trying to drag a Grimm all the way to Patch without being seen."

"Oh, I... um, thank you." She turned over to the blonde, wiping her eyes. "So... how do you know him?"

"I'm Taiyang," he said, walking over with his hand out. "Ruby and Yang's dad."

Lilah shook his hand. "Oh, so... you two are... brothers?" She raised an eyebrow.

Qrow burst into a brief fit of laughter. "Nope, but close. I'm his in-law. My sister is one of his exs. Guess I never told you about it, huh."

"Clearly." Lilah brought her attention back to Taiyang. "It's... nice to meet you." This was probably the first time she's ever properly greeted someone since she met Qrow and Ozpin, but he had a very kind, friendly vibe to him, and he didn't look the least bit dangerous. He didn't have any sort of weapon on him either, so it put her at ease. Slightly, anyway.

"Likewise. Would you like a glass of water?"

"Um, yes. Please," She quickly added.

"I'll be right back, then." Taiyang left the room, and Qrow's face suddenly became serious.

"So..." he said. "You still want to fight?"

"Of course I do!"

"You sure? You aren't going to like where we're going."

Lilah sighed, instantly figuring out where they had to go: Mistral. She wasn't exactly fond of the place, especially because of the memories she had there. But, if it meant a chance to take down the enemy and avenge Ozpin, then so be it. "I'm never going to back down."

Qrow simply nodded.

"When do we leave?"

"Don't push yourself. It won't be for a while."

"How come?"

"I think it's pretty obvious: you still need to recover, and you'll have plenty of time to do it. I don't doubt for a second Ruby will be heading for Mistral soon."

"Ruby made it back here?" Lilah said. "What about the rest of her team? And the other students?"

"Most made it out," Qrow uttered with a sigh. "At least we didn't have as many casualties as I thought we would."

"Yeah..." A small frown appeared on her face.

" _Well then_." Qrow stood up and gave the girl a quick ruffle of the hair. "Why don't you get s'more rest, kiddo? I'll come back later and explain everything further."

"Ughh, fine."

Before he reached the door, he stopped himself. "Right, almost forgot." He turned around and dug into his pocket, pulling out a piece of black cloth. "You were holding onto it when I found you," he said, staring down at it. "Figured you'd want it." The crow handed it to her, and she looked at it for a moment before holding it to her chest.

Was this all she had left of Ozpin? No matter. At least it's something.

"Thank you, Qrow."

The two bid each other adieu. Qrow exited the room and Lilah pulled her legs onto the bed. She stared silently at the cloth in her hands, contemplating what would happen when they reach Mistral. If they were lucky, they would at least lower the enemy's fighting power. If not, they would be injured - or worse: _killed_. But it wasn't _her_ that she was most afraid of.

It was _him_.


	5. V

"It'd be _so_ much easier if we could just travel with them..." Lilah groaned in annoyance, sheathing her swords as the two Creeps in front of her began to fade.

"Well, we can't," Qrow retorted. He swung his sword over his shoulder. "So quit your yappin' already. It's givin' me a headache."

Lilah's outfit was a bit different from before: over her shoulders was a dark blue hood, the ends clamped together at her chest with a circular, silver pin, decorated in wisterias. She wore a buttonless, plum-colored tailcoat left open. Underneath was a lavender long-sleeved blouse, and she wore a pair of baggy umber pants with a pair of matching high-heeled boots. On her back were her sheaths, crossing over each other.

She kept her headband and bracelets but also got herself a thick, silver ring decorated with leaves, due to her liking of Qrow's.

"Still got them in sight?" Qrow asked.

Lilah looked ahead, catching a glimpse the four former students of Beacon walking along the path a great distance away. It was far, but it was no trouble for her to see. "Yep. We should catch up before I lose them. Keep in mind there's a limit to how far I can see." Before the other could respond, she jumped down the short cliff and landed on a tree, leaping from branch to branch with ease. Qrow jumped down as well, but in the bat of an eye, instead of landing, he turned into a crow, gliding through the wind to catch up with his companion.

Lilah glanced behind, smirking when she saw the little black bird. She quickly picked up speed and the crow mentally sighed in annoyance, emitting a low caw.

She refused to let him catch up with her for the next few hours, something that was fun as hell for her and irritating as shit to him. Lilah stopped in her tracks and raised her hand out in front of Qrow, catching him before he could fly by. She held him so he sat in both of her hands, her thumbs over his wings, and giggled in a way that almost sounded creepy to him.

"You're so cute as a bird," she commented. "You should do this more often-ow!"

Qrow pecked at her fingers until she let go. He didn't stop there, though: he hopped on top of her head and continued pecking at her and jumping in her hair in a way that would've been cute if he had done it somewhere else. He took a piece of her hair in his beak and pulled on it, flying away once she swatted at him. Qrow cawed and flew down to the path, landing on the ground, this time in his human form.

"That was so immature," Lilah grumbled, crouching down on the branch as she fixed her hair.

"Don't get all mad at _me_ now - I warned you already."

Lilah scowled and said nothing, jumping over to another tree. The crow followed close behind.

Team RNJR trekked along the dirt path, Ruby Rose up front with a map in her hands. "So, the next town is..." She examined it, clearly having no idea where they're going. "We're lost."

"We're not lost!" Jaune assured her. "The next town is Shion. My family used to visit it all the time."

"Oh, yeah! Don't you have, like, four sisters?"

"Uh, seven," the blonde corrected. Ruby giggled.

"Y'know, that actually explains a lot," Nora commented.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

" _So_ ," Ruby chimed in, "what did you guys do there?"

"Oh! All sorts of stuff!" Jaune walked up beside her and pointed at various locations on the map. "Over here is a great hiking trail, and here is where we went camping all the time. I got my own tent because _I_ was _special_. Also, so my sisters would stop braiding my hair."

"Didn't like the look?"

"Yeah, they just kept doing pigtails, but I personally think I'm more of a 'Warrior's Wolf Tail' kind of guy."

"That's just a ponytail."

"I stand by what I say."

Nora covered her mouth as she and Ren stopped in their tracks. "Uh, guys..." she said.

"What?" Jaune and Ruby looked up.

The atmosphere seemed to darken as they stared in horror at a village that had been completely wiped out. Buildings were crumbling; debris was scattered all over; the smell of blood and decay filled the air. What sent chills down their spines were the bodies of the slain buried in rubble and on the ground.

The four ran past the village gate. "There could be survivors!" It didn't seem likely, given the small town's condition.

"Over here!" Ren called, dashing over to a man slumped against a pile of stone. The others followed, and Ren kneeled down beside him.

"A Huntsman!" Ruby stated. The man held his stomach as blood gushed from his wound.

"What happened?" Jaune asked. "Who killed all of these people?"

The Huntsman coughed, barely able to keep his eyes open as he spoke. "Bandits. A whole tribe... Then, with all the panic..." He broke into a coughing fit.

Ren looked back at his team. "Grimm." The Huntsman nodded. The brunet stepped a couple feet away, his hands resting on the back of his head as he stood in thought. The others did the same, talking amongst themselves.

"All right, we can get him to the next village and try to find a doctor there," Ruby said. 

"Ren and I can take turns carrying him," Jaune agreed with a nod.

"I don't know if he'll make it..." Nora uttered solemnly.

"He will." The blonde tried to be assuring, even though he knew himself that the Huntsman wouldn't make it. "He has to."

"If we get going now, his chances will be better," Ruby said. "I can run ahead and look for help!"

"Guys..." Ren murmured as the three turned to face him. They looked down at the man as he sat there with lifeless eyes.

"Should we... bury him?" Nora asked.

"We should go. It's not safe here." Ren walked past them, clenching his fists.

"Ren..." Nora followed behind him.

Ruby placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "It'll be okay," she said softly, seeing the sorrow in his eyes.

Jaune sighed. "I'm just tired of losing everything."

Lilah was sitting on a branch, listening from afar. Her ears flopped down on her head as she frowned sadly. "I almost feel bad for them," she said, turning her head slightly to glance below. "Especially Blondie." She wasn't familiar with him or his friend Pyrrha, but after a while of tailing them, it was clear to her that Pyrrha's death broke him.

"They've all been through a lot," Qrow said from under her. "As painful as it may be, it's helping them grow, get stronger."

"I... guess so." She couldn't help but think back to the fight with the new Fall Maiden, and how she killed Ozpin. The very thought made her blood boil; she clenched her fists against the bark of the tree, tearing a layer off. It was like ripping pre-cut paper.

She felt like she _has_ changed since that day, but at the same time, not at all. She didn't feel strong at all. She just felt... weak.

"C'mon, kiddo. They already left."

"Right."

Lilah sat up in a tree, watching the four as they slept around a small fire. She was far enough to not be seen, but close enough to have the best view possible, in case anything were to happen. A crow sat in her hands, fast asleep.

She didn't necessarily need sleep, so Qrow was able to get some rest without having to worry about anything.

Lilah glanced downward - in the distance, she spotted a Creep making its way over to the bunch. The brunette pulled out one of her swords. The bronze blade was straightened and sharp, unlike last time.

Holding the sword by the chain, she whipped it forward. The chain didn't seem to have a limit as it extended all the way to the Creep. The blade pierced its head and stuck to the ground, pinning it.

_Bull's-eye_.

With a swift yank, the chain contracted and the sword swung back. She caught it and slid it into its sheath, sighing. She glanced down at the black bird and sighed, wishing he would wake up so she'd have some company. "Why do nights have to be so boring?" she mumbled.

Her ears twitched as she caught the sound of leaves crackling. She turned slightly, a bit surprised when she saw Jaune walk by. He set his scroll on an old tree stump and unsheathed his sword and took out his shield.

Lilah sighed once more as she recognized the redhead shown on his scroll. She watched as the video played.

" _All right, Jaune_ ," Pyrrha's voice rang. " _Just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up. Keep your grip tight. Don't forget to keep your front foot forward._ " There was a short pause. " _Go._ "

Jaune yelled, swinging his sword with all his might.

" _Again_ ," Pyrrha said with a smile, and the blonde obeyed. " _And again._ " He did it once more.

From what Lilah was seeing, he was swinging out of grief and anger. She couldn't imagine how he must've felt.

" _Okay_ ," Pyrrha chuckled. " _Assuming you aren't cheating... we can take a break._ "

Jaune stared at the ground as he focused on what she was saying.

" _I know this can be frustrating. And it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount. But... I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone so determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we started training. And I know this is just the beginning._ " There was a pause. " _Jaune... I... I... I want you to know that I'm just happy to be a part of your life. I'll always be here for you, Jaune._ " The video began to replay, and so did he.

Lilah failed to notice Ruby hiding behind a tree until now. Her expression saddened, and she walked away.

"Come on, guys!" Ruby said as she kept her attention on the map. "If we pick up the pace, we can hit the next town before sunset."

"Assuming it's still there," Jaune uttered, pessimistic after seeing what happened to Shion.

"Of course it'll be there!" Ruby assured him. "This one's supposed to be big." She looked back at the map and struggled to pronounce the town's name. "Hee... gan... bay... na?"

"Higanbana," Ren corrected. "It's a well-protected village with a popular inn."

"Which means no camping in the rain!" Nora cheered.

"See, everything's gonna be fine," Ruby said.

"You know, we've had a lot of ups and downs, but things could be a lot worse," Jaune figured. "Really thought we'd see more Grimm."

"As did I," Ren agreed.

"I guess our luck is finally turning around," Nora said. "To Higanana!"

"To Higanbana!" Jaune and Ren repeated in unison.

"To Higanba... banna!"

Qrow pulled his sword out of a Beowolf and swung it over his shoulder. "Hmph," he grumbled. " _'Luck'_."

"You really need to cheer up," Lilah said as she sheathed her weapons. "You've been so damn gloomy since you woke up."

"Yeah? Well deal with it."

Lilah walked up behind him and smacked him upside the head.

"Ow..."

" _Cheer up_ ," she repeated. "It'll all be good eventually."

Qrow's eyes widened slightly.

"What?"

"It's not like you to be assuring," he said. "Did you hit your head or somethin'?"

Lilah smacked his head again and glared at him with crimson eyes. "You're lucky we're out here or I would've knocked you out for that comment," she muttered, crossing her arms.

"But it _is_ like you to bitch."

"Shut. Up!"

Lilah sat beside Qrow with her legs up on the table, making sure to keep her hood up in the almost empty bar. Team RNJR were visible through the window, checking into the town's inn.

A young waitress walked up to them and placed a small glass of booze in front of the Huntsman.

Qrow looked up at her. "Oh, I didn't, uh-"

"From the woman upstairs," she said with a smile. "Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind a bottom shelf."

Qrow turned his head and glanced up at the higher level before looking back down at the glass. "Thanks."

The waitress leaned in a bit, holding the wooden tray to her chest. "But I went ahead and gave you top." She gave him a wink. Lilah rolled her eyes at her attempt to flirt with him. "Lucky you." Qrow smirked as his eyes were glued to her lower body as she walked away.

Lilah pressed her boot onto the male's cheek, forcing him to look away. "Don't be a perv."

"Yeah, yeah..." Qrow's voice trailed off as he looked back up at the balcony. He stood up and took his drink with him as he headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"You're free to tag along if you want."

Lilah didn't hesitate to jump to her feet. She trailed close behind him as they reached the top. The two looked over at a woman sitting not too far away. She had wild jet black hair and bright crimson eyes. The woman was attired in a black and red dress, and she had gauntlets on her arms. On the table in front of her was a large, white, Grimm-like mask with four slits for the eyes.

"Hello, brother," she greeted softly. Her way of speaking and the large scabbard fastened to her hips gave Lilah the impression that she was a force to be reckoned with.

"Raven," Qrow replied. Lilah gave him a questionable stare as they made their way over to the woman. He waited for his sister to move her mask, and he finally spoke as he sat down. "So, what do you want?"

Lilah stood beside him, eyeing the unfamiliar woman.

"A girl can't just catch up with her family?" Raven said. Her eyes were narrow and her brows were furrowed; it was clear something was up.

"She can, but you're not," Qrow retorted. "How about we get on with it?" He took a sip of his drink. "Unless you plan on keepin' these coming." He placed the shot in front of him.

"Does she have it?" Raven asked in a slow, quiet tone.

There was a few moments of silence as Qrow ran his finger along the rim of his glass. "Did you know Yang lost her arm?" he questioned.

Raven clenched her fists. "That's not-"

"Rhetorical question. I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you bring up family then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist."

"I _saved_ her."

" _Once_ ," the crow said. "Because that was your rule, right? Real 'Mom of the Year' material, sis."

Raven grabbed his arm and she found herself with a sword to her throat by Lilah.

"I suggest you tell your friend here to back off," Raven threatened through clenched teeth.

"Or what?" Lilah sneered. She looked down at Qrow when he held onto her wrist.

"Calm down, will you?"

"Hmph." The brunette sheathed her weapon and leaned against the wall behind him.

Raven brought her attention back to Qrow. "I told you Beacon would fall, and it did," she said. "I told you Ozpin would fail, and he has."

Lilah growled and clenched her teeth, sending death glares at the other. Her irises became red once more. Qrow simply held his hand out in front of her so she wouldn't try anything.

"Tell me," Raven continued impatiently. "Does... Salem... have it?"

"I thought you weren't interested in all of that," Qrow said.

"I just want to know what we're up against."

Qrow gave her a taunting smile. "And which 'we' are you referring to?"

Raven exhaled in irritation, releasing him from her grip as she sat back down.

"You should come back, Raven." Qrow picked up his glass and swirled it around. "The only way we beat her is by working together. _All of us_."

"You're the one who left," the raven uttered with a scowl. "The tribe raised us... and _you_ turned your back on them."

Qrow took a sip. "They were killers and thieves."

"They were your family."

"You have a very skewed perception of that word."

Raven jumped to her feet, pushing her chair back with the sudden movement. She brought her hand to her chest. "I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do _everything_ in my power to ensure our survival."

"I saw," Qrow said. "The people of Shion saw too."

"The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules."

"Well, you've _certainly_ got someone strong on your side. I've seen the damage."

Raven turned away and crossed her arms. "We couldn't have known the Grimm would set in as quickly as they did."

"I'm not talking about the Grimm, and I'm not talking about _you_ either."

"If you don't know where the Relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about." Raven reached for her mask, but her brother grabbed ahold of it.

"I don't know where the Spring Maiden is, either," he added. "But if you do, I need you to tell me."

"And why would I do _that_?" Raven pulled her mask away and held it under her arm.

"Because without her, we're all going to _die_."

Raven scoffed. "And which ' _we_ ' are you referring to?" She turned around and pulled out her sword, slicing through the air as a large black and red portal appeared. Lilah watched wide-eyed as she disappeared into it, and it vanished.

She and Qrow turned around to the sound of a gasp and glass breaking. The waitress from before stood there trembling like a leaf.

Qrow held up his cup of booze. "Make this one a double," he requested.

The woman merely nodded and quickly swept the broken glass back onto the tray. She stumbled off, nearly tripping down the stairs.

"What the hell was..." Lilah muttered.

"That was her Semblance," Qrow said. "She's able to create portals to people she's bonded with, and there's only three, that I know of."

"And who would they be?"

"Yang, Tai, and me."

Lilah laughed quietly.

"Did I miss something?"

"I can't believe a woman like that was in a relationship with a man like Taiyang," the brunette said in disbelief. "And she's Yang's mother?"

"Yep." Qrow gulped down the rest of his alcohol. "Raven wasn't always like this."

Lilah pulled up a chair next to him and sat down on it backward. "She wasn't always an asshole?"

"Heheheh, no, believe it or not. Well, not entirely."

"You need to tell me some of those Team STRQ stories you keep mentioning," Lilah insisted.

"Maybe next year, kid." Qrow patted her head.

Lilah frowned. "You said that last year."

"When you're an adult, then. Better?"

"Aww, c'mon!"

"Haha, I'm kidding," Qrow chuckled, bringing himself to his feet. "How about this: When all of this is over, I'll tell you all of the stories you want."

"Deal," Lila said with a nod.


	6. VI

Nora stretched her arms out, grinning happily. "Another day, another adventure!" she declared.

"What's on the agenda today?" Ruby asked, gazing at the blonde in front of her.

Jaune lowered the map. "Walking!"

"With a side of...?~" Nora said eagerly.

"Walking," Ren repeated.

Ruby gave a weary sigh. "Haven is a lot farther away than I thought."

"Ruby..." Ren uttered, "...how long did you think this journey was going to take?"

The small brunette threw her arms in the air. "I don't know! I grew up in a small area; I've never been this far away from home."

"Right but... how long?" Jaune asked.

"Maybe like, uh... two weeks?"

"What?!"

"Okay, fine, three or something!" She sighed once more. "Look, whatever." She looked up and raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

The four stared ahead at a large village in the distance. Nora jumped onto an old wooden fence to get a sightly better view.

"That's strange..." Jaune muttered, looking down at the map. "I didn't think we'd be hitting another village for a few days."

"Are those buildings... damaged?" Nora's eyes widened.

"We should search for survivors!"

The team ran through, scouring around for people that hopefully survived whatever happened. They looked under every piece of debris; there was no sigh of life. Not even a body.

"Anything?" Ruby called.

"Nothing over here!" Nora replied, jumping off of a structure of a crumbling building.

"No one over here either!" Jaune said as the girls headed over to him.

"It almost seems like the town was abandoned..." Ren said. After observing the area as thoroughly as they could, it was likely the case. There was no sign of bloodshed, which was assuring.

The others walked on ahead, and Nora stopped at a small sign around the middle of the small town. It was covered in overgrown vines. "Hey, I think I found something!" she said. Her friends rushed over and she pushed the leaves aside. The sign read: _ONIYURI_.

"Oniyuri?" Nora said. She straightened her posture and placed her hands on her hips, struggling to recall the name. "Never heard of it."

"Me neither," Jaune said.

"I have," Ren stated, and the three brought their attention to him. His expression was solemn as he spoke. "You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own city... With their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe even become its own kingdom. Many thought it would be the future." Ren walked a few feet away, his back facing them. "I know my parents did."

"What happened?" Ruby asked quietly.

"What always happens." Ren swiped his hand over a short stone wall, revealing large claw marks.

"The Grimm..." Jaune murmured.

Ren clenched his fists. "Not just any one."

"...One?" Ruby repeated.

A flock of black birds flew overhead. "Come on, let's just get through here," Jaune said. "This place gives me the creeps." He walked off, followed by Nora, Ren, and finally, Ruby.

It didn't take long for them to sense a presence nearby. The four stopped and pulled out their weapons. In a few mere seconds, someone jumped over from a high rooftop and landed right next to them, taking out his weapon as well.

He was dressed in a dark brown jacket over a white outfit. He had two blades on both wrists, each resembling the pincers of a scorpion.

The strange man raced toward Ruby. Ren blocked his path, wrestling to keep him at bay, but the other's wild fighting style proved to be too unpredictable and he was sent flying with a single kick.

His attention went straight to Ruby and fought back in such a way that she wasn't able to keep up with his speed. She managed to block his attacks, but at the cost of damaging her Aura.

Jaune swung his sword, but the man dodged and landed on his shield, looking at the blonde in interest. Nora attempted to get in a hit with Magnhild, but he leaped off of her hammer and crashed into one of the buildings. The smoke cleared; the man stood there with his feet on wooden beams. Not even a scratch was on him.

"We're not looking for a fight!" Jaune yelled.

"Who are you?" Ren demanded.

The man jumped down and landed with ease. "Who I am matters not to you," he said. He pointed to Nora. "Or you." He looked over to Jaune. "Or... well... _you_ do interest me."

Jaune flinched back slightly.

"No, I only matter..." he pointed at Ruby, "to _you_."

Ruby cocked her head. "Me?"

The man burst into a fit of laughter. "You-you haven't the slightest clue, do you?" he said. "Oh, how _exciting_ this must be!" He continued to cackle.

"What do you want?" Ruby inquired sternly.

"Oh, the rose has thorns!" the man stated in shock. "My little flower, I'm here to whisk you away with me!"

Nora stood in front of her friend, keeping a tight grip on her hammer. "What if she doesn't want to go with you?"

"Well, I'll take her."

Jaune stood beside Nora. "We're _not_ going to let you do that."

A long, psychotic smile crept onto the man's face. " _Good._ " He was too fast for the teens as he was behind the blonde in a split second.

"Jaune!" Ren fired StormFlower, briefly knocking the man back.

The man was unrestrained as he fought barbarically, swiftly dodging any attack that came his way as if he could predict their every move.

As he charged toward Nora, Ruby fired an electric Dust bullet. The cartridge flew past his head hit the redhead directly, sending her crashing backward. The man halted, laughing aloud for a few moments as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Well!" he exclaimed, turning around to face the remaining three. "If that isn't ironic."

He scowled, pondering why they were smirking. He looked back as Nora ran behind him, swinging Magnhild as hard as she could.

There was a dust cloud; as it began to clear, the four focused on the scorpion tail coming from the man's lower back. He giggled mischievously. "Surprise!" He struck the redhead with a roundhouse kick and jumped upward, backflipping onto a small structure as his coat fell to the ground.

Revelation hit them. "He's... a Faunus!" Ren stated in shock. He was almost in disbelief.

"What is this about?!" Ruby yelled. "The White Fang? Roman Torchwick?"

"Plastic soldiers and pawns!" the man cried. "My heart and body belong only to our goddess!" He seemed very passionate about their 'goddess.'

Ruby grit her teeth. "Cinder..."

"Only in her wildest dreams!" He launched himself forward, no sign of hesitation as he went all out. With a few swings of his blades, Ruby was out.

He knocked Nora back with a couple more and attempted to sting Ren with his tail, something he was just barely able to dodge.

His use of speed and brute force was unbelievable as he took them out in less than a minute. Ruby stood once more, but was kicked in the abdomen. The force sent her flying over a dozen feet away. She had expected to hit the pavement, but she didn't. Instead, she felt a pair of arms hold her to a female chest.

"We made it..." Lilah murmured with a sigh.

"Lilah, where-" Ruby started. She was cut off by a loud clash of blades, and she quickly turned to the direction of the noise. Qrow was there as well, keeping the sudden enemy at bay.

Lilah rushed over to the others and set Ruby down there just as Qrow stood next to her.

"Huh! As I live and breathe!" The man almost sounded honored. "Qrow Branwen." He giggled and bowed his head. "A true Huntsman as entered the fray!"

Qrow glanced at Ruby as she stood up, holding her scythe. "I don't know," she said. "This guy's weird."

The man looked over at Lilah and smirked. "You must be the girl he mentioned," he said. "Looks like you've saved me the trouble of finding you, Wisteria."

"Excuse me?" the brunette said.

"Look, pal," Qrow chimed in, "I'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave them alone."

"Why, friend, my name is Tyrian," the Faunus chortled, clapping his hands together. "And I'm afraid that is not possible. My assignment from Her Grace was to retrieve these young girls. So, that is what I must do. One does not upset the Queen."

"Queen?" Ruby repeated.

"Salem," Qrow bellowed.

"Who?"

"Hmm, I think we've had enough talk now, don't you?" Tyrian said, crouching to the ground as his tail curled behind him.

"You took the words right out of-"

Tyrian charged in, sending a relentless assault to the crow's way.

"Lilah!" Ruby said, turning to the brunette. "Do you know what's..." She trailed off, noticing the other looked kind of pale. "Y...You know what's going on, don't you?"

"I'll explain that later-" Lilah and the others flinched as a high-pitched, bloodcurdling shriek rang through the abandoned town. It clearly wasn't human, which brought a reason for concern. Qrow and Tyrian paused their fight.

The scorpion emitted an ominous chuckle. "She's here~" He gave Qrow no time to figure out what happened as he continued his attacks.

"What was that?!" Jaune looked at Lilah, expecting an answer. "I've never heard anything like it before!"

"I... I don't know..." Lilah unsheathed her swords, staring in the direction of the scream. Her eyes widened suddenly as she yelled. "All of you, get back!" Just as she finished, a black figure shot toward her. The brunette managed to keep her ground as she blocked their attack.

The figure appeared to be that of a woman, but her entire body was pitch black and covered in bone-like armor. She had eight arms, four on each side, and her dull eyes were crimson. She didn't show any sort of interest in the situation, but she continued her assault anyway.

Lilah was sent backward, and Ruby fired her scythe-rifle. The bullets did indeed make contact, but the woman didn't even flinch - her white armor had not a single scratch.

She glanced over to the small girl and held out her hand, palm open. A web shot out. Lilah dashed over and sliced off the woman's arm before it could reach Ruby, and the woman let out a shriek, clawing at Lilah.

"Don't interfere!" Lilah snapped, swinging her swords at her enemy and kicking her once she found a good opening. The woman crashed into a building and, in the cloud of dust, she ran forward with such speed, Lilah was barely able to keep up, especially with an opponent with eight arms.

She did her best to block and dodge her attacks. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side and she was pinned to the ground. Lilah tried to attack back, but the woman grabbed ahold of her arms. With two of her extra three hands, she took her weapons and tossed them aside. 

Nora quickly stepped in, getting a bull's-eye as her hammer slammed into the woman's face. She barely moved, but it caught her off guard. Lilah kicked her abdomen and she got off of her. The brunette sat up, gripping her side tightly as blood gushed out.

"Lilah!" Ruby cried.

"I'm fine," Lilah said, jumping to her feet. "This is nothing." She picked up her swords. "I'm not going to say it again; _don't interfere_ , unless you wanna be the ones who end up dying." She charged in, continuing the battle.

"Fine!" Ruby ran over to a building and launched herself upward using the recoil of her rifle. She held Crescent Rose firmly, trying to get a good shot on at least one opponent. Each fight kept moving about too quickly to get a clear shot, so she stood there, waiting for the right moment.

Tyrian constantly cackled as he fought. Now using his tail, the fight was a bit more complicated. Qrow not only had to watch out for the blades and bullets, but also that nasty stinger. It was much more difficult to do, given Tyrian's wild fighting style.

The Faunus attempted to sting him, but the Huntsman dodged at the last moment. Tyrian's tail twisted around his wrist and pulled back, ripping his sword from his grip hard enough to cause it to impale a wall a good distance away.

Tyrian giggled as the blades on his wrists folded back, letting his cockiness take over as he convinced himself he would be the victor now that he had disarmed him.

A bullet darted past his bangs. "Huh?" He looked down, spotting a part of the ground that was smoking slightly. He smirked and hummed gleefully, deflecting the next few bullets with his tail.

Qrow looked at his hand as he balled it into a fist, his knuckles cracking. He shrugged and punched Tyrian square in the face. The Faunus cried in pain as another punch was sent his way. With a swift kick, he was rolling backward, but quickly regained his balance. He glared at the scoffing Huntsman as he walked past him and grabbed his weapon.

Tyrian barreled toward him. Qrow jumped and used the wall as a platform, dodging the attack, and the gears in the hilt of his sword began to turn. The blade split into several pieces as it curved, and he fired his gun, launching himself with the recoil.

Lilah was sent his way and the woman went after her. "Qrow!" She looked back at him with a smirk, and he nodded. The gears in his weapon began to turn again. The blade split and curved, and the handle extended. He spun around once, pulling the trigger once Lilah landed on his blade. She flew past the woman and clashed blades with Tyrian, who had just landed on the roof. Qrow sliced the woman in half at her abdomen just as she reached him.

Her body dropped to the ground below and Qrow charged in to continue his fight with Tyrian. Lilah was knocked back; Qrow grabbed her wrist and spun, letting her go to the side. Her boots skidded across the ground and, once at a stop, crouched down, holding her wound.

Qrow's blade quickly reverted back into a sword before Tyrian could attack. Suddenly, a web wrapped around the crow as it began to spark, electrocuting him.

"Qrow!"

He yelled in pain as his body flashed red, indicating his Aura was depleted. Tyrian took his chance to strike.

Ruby abruptly swooped in and countered. "Ruby!" Jaune shouted.

Lilah held her sword by its chain and threw it toward the woman, who was on her side with one of her hands out toward Qrow. The blade impaled her head, and she collapsed. The web fell to the ground around Qrow.

"Do you _wish_ to be taken?!" Tyrian inquired.

"No, but I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!" Ruby and Qrow rushed in for a double attack, but Tyrian was able to fight them off with not a lot of effort. He attempted to wound Ruby with his tail; Qrow stepped in front of her and parried the blow.

"Ruby! Get back!" he said.

"This is my fight too!" She whirled behind Tyrian and swiped her scythe under him, a move which he hopped over.

"No, it's not that! It's-" Qrow was cut off as Tyrian knocked him back and swung his blades at Ruby. He sent a kick to her face, nearly causing her to crash into a building. A wooden beam began to fall. Qrow quickly rushed in and cut it in half, dropping his guard for a moment.

Lilah stood in front of them as Tyrian's stinger pierced her skin. She grabbed him by the tail and whipped him aside. She held out her twin blades, approaching the girl. "Ruby! Go! _Now_!" she shouted. "I'm not putting up with your stubbornness anymore!"

"Lilah-"

"Qrow." The brunette kept her eyes on Tyrian as she spoke. "How much longer do you think this will take?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Then let's finish this as fast as possible," Lilah said. "I'm joining in whether you like it or not."

Qrow simply nodded with a quiet sigh, raising his sword. Tyrian let no more time pass as he charged in.

Lilah and Qrow's attacks synced so well together, it was taking the scorpion by surprise.

Out of frustration, he whipped his tail at them and continuously fired bullets. Lilah deflected them and ran in front of him, clashing with him. She lodged her weapons into his and jumped behind him, bringing his arms upward and leaving him defenseless. Qrow quickly took her place and slashed at him, but Tyrian leaped and landed behind Lilah.

She managed to turn herself around before he did anything and let go of her swords as she did a back flip, striking his jaw. Her boot was hooked under his chin. He flipped with her and she landed on his throat and chest. He raised his arms and fired once more. Lilah grabbed the helves of her swords and stepped off of him.

Team RNJR watched in utter shock as she spun around several times, bringing Tyrian with her. Her swords dislodged, sending him flying into a building. He landed on the wall on his feet and he hurled himself forward, crashing into Qrow.

Tyrian became more aggressive and his attacks were everywhere. It was almost as if he got better the more he fought with them. He swung his blade across Lilah's face; she was able to dodge at the last minute, but was knocked back by a kick to the chest. She gasped as she hit the ground, rolling into a wall.

Tyrian laughed aloud, seeing she wasn't getting back to her feet, and immediately brought his focus to Qrow. His blows were quicker and stronger than before; it was time to pick up the pace.

Lilah whipped her sword by its chain and it shot past Qrow, who grabbed the hilt. Lilah yanked on the chain and she was pulled forward. Qrow bound off to the side and Lilah's heels slammed into Tyrian's back. The Faunus face-planted on the ground but pushed himself off the ground and landed on his feet. Lilah slid next to Qrow and retrieved her blade.

Before they could make another move, Ruby was right in front of them, now the one fighting. "Ruby!" Qrow yelled. "What did I say?! _Get back_!"

"You're practically asking to be taken," Tyrian giggled, firing his hidden guns. Ruby deflected all of them and jumped back.

"You're _**really**_ pissing me off here, kid!" Lilah hollered. "This isn't your fight! Get back before you make things worse!"

"You're hurt!" Ruby yelled back. "I can't just sit and watch you fight like this!"

"Ugh, you're hopeless!" Lilah shouted, raising one of her swords. The blade bent, revealing the barrel of a gun. She pulled the trigger several times, but Tyrian refused to pull back.

The three attacked at once; it was difficult since Ruby didn't personally know Lilah's style of fighting.

Tyrian managed to give Lilah a shallow slash along her forearm, knocking her blade from her hand. He fired at Ruby and Qrow at once as he whipped his tail against Lilah's stomach. She fell over and Tyrian pinned her uninjured arm to the ground, the blade slicing through as he fired another round. She screamed, and Qrow raised his sword.

"Get away from her!"

Tyrian ducked under his blade and kicked his chest. Ruby ran in and attempted to strike, but she was on the ground in seconds. His stinger shot toward her, but Qrow dashed in front of her. He was unable to block it; he gasped as it cut through his side.

Ruby picked up her scythe and it went into war scythe mode. She sliced off half of Tyrian's tail and he screamed in pain. Qrow fell to one knee as the Faunus backed away, bellowing in anger. "You _bitch_!"

Jaune, Nora, and Ren ran over and stood in defense of the other three. Tyrian slowly backed away. "She'll forgive you," he murmured before running off.

"Lilah! Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cried, kneeling next to the Huntsman. "Are you okay?!"

Lilah forced herself up, holding her arm tightly. "Just peachy..."

Qrow panted heavily. "I'll be fine," he assured her. "He just grazed me." He looked at his trembling hand covered in blood and held his wound again.

"Who was that guy?" Nora asked.

"How did you get here?" Ren said.

"Why are people after Ruby?" Jaune inquired.

"What's going on?" Ruby's gaze went from her uncle to Lilah; the bleeding brunette lied back on the ground and closed her eyes, sighing heavily.

Qrow remained silent for a few moments. "What's your favorite fairy tale?"


	7. VII

The six of them sat around a fire. Ruby and Jaune sat by themselves and Nora and Ren were next to each other. Qrow took a sip of his flask; in his shadow was Lilah. She sat on the ground behind him, her face buried in her knees.

Their wounds were dressed the best they could with what was available. The good thing was Lilah's injuries surprisingly stopped bleeding. It seemed as though they didn't bother her as much.

"Really?" Qrow said, eyeing the four in front of him. "No questions?" 

"Of course we have questions," Jaune said. He slumped over, resting on his knees. "This is just... a lot to take in."

"Sure, of course."

"So these... Maidens..." Ruby said. "They're powerful fighters who don't need Dust to use magic."

"Yeah."

"And there are four of them?" Nora asked.

"Yep," Qrow said. "Always."

"Which means that, whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone - a female - that they care about?" Ren inquired. 

"Whoever was in their last thoughts," the crow clarified. "Important distinction. Best option, it's someone we can trust. Regardless, they're souls become combined, in a way."

"And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha," Jaune said. "The night the tower fell. You were trying to turn her into one of _them_."

"The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked," Qrow explained. "She was young, inexperienced. And her assailant, who we now know as Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well."

Jaune clenched his teeth. "So you forced it on Pyrrha."

"We didn't force anything," Qrow insisted. "We explained the situation and gave her a choice, and she chose. You were there, you heard her."

Jaune simply looked down for a moment before swinging his legs over the log he was on and walked away.

"That guy. Tyrian," Ruby said softly as she brought her hand to her chest. "Why was he after Lilah and I?"

Qrow let out a sigh. "Well, Lilah's story is best saved for another time. You, on the other hand, you definitely painted a target on your back with what you did at Beacon. I told you having silver eyes is a rare trait. And the fact that you're someone that was able to use them seems to have upset some very powerful people. Not many people know about the silver eyes. But those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. That's why I've been keeping an eye on you. In order to make sure you were safe. _All_ of you." He looked over to Jaune; the blonde didn't move or utter a word.

"Well, then, why not travel with us?" Ruby asked. "Seems like that would've been way easier."

"He was using you as bait," Jaune said.

Lilah raised her head and glared at him with red eyes. " _You better shut it, Blondie_."

"Lilah." Qrow turned around a bit and patted her shoulder. "Please. Calm down."

The brunette said nothing as she turned her body enough to rest her temple on his thigh comfortably.

The Huntsman brought his attention back to the others. "Look, I wouldn't put it like that; it's... complicated."

Jaune turned around. "What is all of this?" he demanded. "Ruby and Lilah are being hunted; the schools are being attacked; all for what? What is the point of all of this? Will you just tell us what's going on?!"

"Would you sit down?" Qrow sighed. "You're stressin' me out, kid."

Jaune did just that and sat down with his arms crossed, waiting impatiently for an answer.

"Not many people are religious these days," the brunet said. He screwed the cap onto his flask and set it aside. "This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real.

They were brothers. The older sibling, the god of light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the god of darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas of how things should go.

The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the god of darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all that he could do to rid Remnant of life. But life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something. Something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything."

"The creatures of Grimm..." Ruby murmured. 

"You guessed it," Qrow said. He continued the story. "The older brother had finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation. Together. Something that they could both be proud of. Their masterpiece. Younger brother agreed.

This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow: The Path of Light, or the Path of Darkness. And that is how humanity came to be."

"But... what does that have to do with us?" Ren questioned.

"Well, that's the kicker. See, the four gifts to mankind: knowledge, destruction, creation, and choice aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. That's exactly what the enemy wants.

The Huntsman Academies were created to train generations of humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose: guarding the Relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the Relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would be constantly surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding the Relics would keep mankind from using them against itself. And, of course, keeping them out of _her_ reach. So, yeah, there's that."

"Her," Ruby said. "You mean Salem?"

Qrow nodded. "That's right," he said. "Not much is known about her and quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the Relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well."

"All right," Jaune said. "So, let's say we believe all of this. There really is this crazy, evil being behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. Why doesn't the world know? Why isn't Atlas going after them, or Mistral?"

"And why aren't we in more of a hurry to get to Haven?" Nora asked. "Shouldn't we be giving them a message? What if they're next?"

"The headmaster over there saw what happened to Beacon," Qrow said. "He's not dumb. He'll be on his guard. Besides, it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you really think they planned out that attack on Beacon overnight? To answer _your_ question," he looked over to Jaune, "it's the same reason we keep quiet about the Maidens. If the whole world knew about the Relics, about Salem, there would be chaos. We'd have another Great War on our hands, and this time _you'd_ have to fight."

Jaune looked away with narrowed eyes.

"Look, I had the same questions too," Qrow continued. "But ol' Ozpin would always put his foot down. We can't cause a panic. Heh, I can't tell you how many times I've heard that." He picked up his flask and took off the cap. "Salem's smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants, so that when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other." He took a sip. "She's trying to divide us - humanity. And so far, she's done a pretty damn good job." He glanced up at the broken moon and sighed.

"All right," Ruby said. "So what should we do?"

"Heheh, I don't really know," the crow admitted with a light shrug. The teenagers looked back and forth from one another, worry written all over their faces. "Ozpin has put a lot of trust in the headmasters. Like I said, the schools are an important part of stopping Salem. Atlas is going to be on high alert after the last attack, and Vacuo is... well, Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against other thieves and scoundrels.

Take that, add in the fact that Cinder and her crew claim to be from Haven, then I think it's likely the next target. So, we're on our way to the headmaster. Haven't heard from him in a while, even before the attack. I'm hoping he has the answers." He got to his feet and put his flask in his pocket. "All right, I think it's time you kids get some sleep."

"Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah?"

"This is a lot to take in," Ruby said, "and it all sounds _crazy_ , but... I'm willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you. But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us instead of all this secrecy and, and-"

"Look, this has nothing to do with trust." Qrow emitted a weary sigh. "I-... It's a long story, okay?"

"Seriously?" Nora said. " _Now_ you're tired of telling us stories?"

Qrow simply stared at the fire, not daring to look up as he spoke. "Did you know the crows are a sign of bad luck?" he asked. "Old superstition, but it's how I got my name." He kneeled down by the fire and poked at it with a stick. "See, some people can absorb electricity and some people can burst into rose petals and some people are just born unlucky. My Semblance isn't like most. It's not exactly something I... _do_. It's always there, whether I like it or not. I bring misfortune." He chuckled softly. "I guess you could call me a bad luck charm. Comes in real handy when fighting an enemy, but it makes it a little hard on friends... and family." He looked at Ruby; her expression saddened.

"Well, you are just a real bundle of help, aren't you?" Jaune said scornfully.

Lilah glared at him, struggling to resist the urge to beat the hell out of him.

"...Yeah." Qrow began to walk off.

"Where are you going?" Ren questioned.

"Takin' a walk."

"There's nothing else you want to tell us?" Ruby asked.

Qrow stopped in his tracks and looked over to a raven cawing. "Not tonight."

A log from the fire fell out.

Ruby watched dolefully as he headed out of sight.

"Aren't you going to follow him like you always do?" Jaune looked over to the brunette. He had the same derisive look on his face from when he was speaking to Qrow.

Lilah stood and walked over to him, her hands balled into fists. She stared at him dead in the eyes; her irises were red again. "It's taking all I have not to beat the shit outta you, so please, at least try to stay on my good side, Blondie."

"Lilah..." Nora muttered. "You're eyes..."

Lilah pulled her hood over her head and faced away from them.

"Do you have a Semblan-" Ruby started.

"Similar to Yang? No," Lilah stated.

"What _is_ your Semblance?" Nora asked.

"And what about your Aura?" Jaune added. "You didn't use it during that fight. If you had, you wouldn't be as injured as you are."

"Don't get so nosy," Lilah grumbled. She scrunched up her face in annoyance as she crossed her arms. "I'm not telling you, so you can save your breath."

"I still need to ask you..." Ruby said quietly, holding her hands together. She looked up. "Why did Tyrian call you Wisteria?"

The brunette said nothing.

"Does it have anything to do wi-"

"Like I said, _save your breath_." Lilah pulled her hood over her head, sprinting off in Qrow's direction before anyone had the chance to say anything more.

The daunting thing was how pale her face was when she ran. It was as if she just woke up from a nightmare.

"I shouldn't have asked..." The rose hung her head and stared down at her feet.

"Don't feel bad, Ruby," Ren said. "We all wanted to know the same thing."

"I know. I'm just... worried, about her. She's been so secretive ever since I met her... Now that I think about it, I barely know anything about her. I don't even know how old she is."

"Everything will surface itself eventually." Ren stood up. "For now, we should get some rest."

Lilah was barely awake, leaning against Qrow as his coughing and jerking finally jolted her awake. She sat on her knees beside him. "Qrow?" She placed a hand on his back as he continued to violently cough.

His fit was loud enough to get everyone's attention. Ruby ran over as fast as she could. "Uncle Qrow!"

Once he settled, he brought his hand down. Lilah was expecting to see blood, but it was an odd, purple substance covering his hand. The same substance was soaking the bandages around his waist.

Ruby's eyes widened as she gasped in horror.

"Well..." His voice was weak as looked at the girls with the most haggard expression they've ever seen him bear. "That's unfortunate." He suddenly became silent and slumped over.


	8. VIII

Ren and Nora walked ahead as Ruby and Jaune carried Qrow in a makeshift stretcher, using his cape, wood, and rope. Lilah walked right next to him, her arm loosely over her side as she held it.

"Just... hold on, Uncle Qrow," Ruby said.

Her uncle began to mumble, hallucinating from the poison. "Tai... she's not... coming... Tai..." He coughed uncontrollably; Jaune's brows furrowed in concern.

"He's getting worse," he said.

"How much farther?" Ruby looked ahead at Ren and Nora.

"We've gotta be close," the redhead said. 

"Without the map, there's no way of knowing," Ren uttered. "But I feel like we're close to something." He stopped in his tracks, spotting a wooden pole with several signs attached.

"What is it?" Ruby asked as he ran up to it.

He read through it: _Higanbana_ was back the way they came; _Kuchinash_ i and _Mistral_ were to the right; _Kuroyuri_ was to the left. Kuroyuri's sign was crossed out.

Nora hurried over. She felt herself perk up once she caught up. "Hey, hey! Mistral! We're on the right path!" Her excitement faded once she read ' _Kuroyuri_ '. "Oh..."

"Does it say how close?!" Ruby called. 

Ren gave a quiet answer. "No. And it looks like the path takes us up through the mountains."

Ruby and Jaune set Qrow down on the ground. "Guys," the blonde said, "I don't know if all of us can make that climb."

"He will!" Lilah snapped. The four looked back at her. "He has to..." She fell to her knees and clenched her fists.

Ruby quickly ran up to the sign. She was almost frantic. "Okay. Well, what about this place? Kuro... Kuroyuri. Can we get help there?"

"That village was destroyed years ago," Ren stated.

Jaune walked up. "But if it takes us around the mountains, it's the best bet we've got."

"It will take too long."

"The town would've had a doctor, right?" Ruby asked. "Or maybe we could scavenge for medicine!"

"Right!" Jaune agreed.

"We're not going to find anything!" Ren said. "We just have to press on!"

"Ren, why are you acting-"

"We can split up," Nora said. She placed her hand on Ren's shoulder.

"Huh?" Ruby looked back and forth between them.

"Ren and I can cut through the mountains while you, Ruby, and Lilah take Qrow around through the village."

"No, we're supposed to stick _together_ ," Jaune said. "We keep each other safe!"

"We don't have time for safe! If we make it to Mistral, we'll bring back help! If we don't, we'll at least have a better view of the land! Up there, we can see if there's somewhere else we can go!"

The four brought their attention behind them as Qrow coughed. Lilah held onto his hand, nearly overwhelmed with worry.

Jaune looked back at Ren and Nora. "Okay," he said with a nod. The boys embraced. "Just take care of each other."

"We always have," Nora said. She waved farewell as she and Ren ran down the path towards the mountains.

Jaune and Ruby headed back to the others and picked up the stretcher. The blonde stared down as the three of them made their way to Kuroyuri.

"They're gonna be fine, Jaune," Ruby said softly.

"You don't know that."

"Being pessimistic about it won't make anything better," Lilah stated. Even so, she was struggling to be even the slightest bit optimistic. "We _won't_ lose anyone."

"Right," Jaune said quietly.

The three stopped at the entrance, dumbfounded at the village's state. It seemed to be in the worst condition compared to the other towns they had visited.

Items and debris were scattered along the pavement; buildings were demolished; there was blood everywhere they looked; the place smelled like death itself. It sent shivers down Jaune and Ruby's spines.

"Oh man..." Jaune muttered.

"Come on," Ruby said. They advanced forward, scanning the buildings they passed. "Any of these look like a pharmacy?"

"It's... honestly hard to tell." He looked off to the side to try and see if he could spot any sign of there being medicine around. He couldn't help but notice Lilah was dragging right behind him. "Lilah?"

She looked ill; she was pale and there were dark rings under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in days.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked. When she got no response, she and Jaune set Qrow down and hurried over to her. Jaune kept her on her feet. "Are your wounds bothering you?"

"...She's bleeding," Jaune said, looking at his hand. It was covered in her blood. He glanced over to Ruby. "Her injuries must've started to bleed again from moving around. We gotta hurry, Ruby!"

"W-We need to find some more bandages! I-I don't have enough in my bag!"

"Take Lilah. I'll get Qrow," Jaune said. "Once we get them to a safe area, we can start searching."

Ruby nodded and wrapped her arm around Lilah's waist, holding her up. Jaune went over to Qrow and managed to pull him onto his back, as hard as that was.

They continued down the path, but barely a few minutes past before Lilah's legs gave in. The blonde looked up at a large tree in the center of the town. "Right there should be good enough," Jaune said.

Once the two were propped up against the old cherry blossom tree, they set off, rummaging through as many buildings as they could for medicine, but with no luck.

Jaune made his way over to Ruby and shook his head with a quiet sigh. "Nothing."

The silver-eyed girl frowned, having not found anything either. "We should get back to them." She turned around, looking at the tree. Qrow was still barely conscious; Lilah, on the other hand, was finally awake. Ruby gasped loudly and ran over with Jaune at her side.

She was still pale and weak, but she looked a bit better than before, surprisingly. She attempted to stand, leaning against Ruby to keep from falling over. "Where... are we?"

"Kuroyuri," Jaune said. "Now sit back down. You shouldn't be walking yet."

Lilah pressed her back against the tree. Her legs trembled as she struggled to stay on her feet. "I'll be fine."

"But you're not fine!" Ruby cried. "Please... you need to rest!"

"We need to get moving. It's not safe..."

"Nowhere is safe," Jaune said. "We won't be until we get to Haven."

"You're proving my point-"

"But we can't go on with you bleeding out like this," the blonde continued. "Chances are, you'll bleed to death if you keep moving around like that. I'm surprised you're even still alive."

"Trust me... it'll take a lot more than this to kill me," Lilah uttered. "My top priority right now is Qrow. He's only gotten worse. Imagine how severe his condition will be if we don't make it to Haven by nightfall?"

"And you think dying along the way is an option?"

"If dying will save someone important to me, then so be it. I've already lost someone dear to me; I'm not going through that pain again."

Jaune was unable to respond as a faint roar echoed through the empty town. There was something sinister about it that made him grab onto the hilt of his sword.

The Grimm was far off, but there was a strange feeling in the air, as if they were being watched.

Jaune yelled in pain and was pulled over by a sudden force. A short woman appeared in front of him out of nowhere, and so did the chain around his arm. The chain had a three-point spear head connected to it, which latched onto his arm. It was similar to a three-pointed star.

She spun the other end of the chain with her free hand, the second end also having a spear head, as she gave the boy a smirk. "So you're the kid he told me about," she said.

She wore a pair of black jeans and matching boots. Her top was a saturated cold blue sports bra, and over her shoulders was a dark cloak. Her jet black hair was pulled back into a bun. Her deep koamaru eyes were ominous as she chuckled, yanking the chain upward, forcing Jaune to follow.

"Can't imagine why he'd have such an interest in you," the woman said. She glanced over to Ruby and Lilah, then down to Qrow. "The little bird's poisoned; _perfect_! This will make my job _much_ easier."

"Who are you?" Ruby demanded.

"The name's Koamaru," the woman said. "You met a friend of mine the other day. Does Tyrian ring a bell?"

"You're with Salem..." Lilah growled.

"I guess I am," Koamaru said. "But I take orders from a man you know pretty well: Beryl Azureus. He sent me to fetch you, Wisteria."

"She's not going with you!" Jaune yelled. He unsheathed his sword as Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose in gun-mode. Jaune swung his sword and the brunette fired her gun, but both attacks were blocked so quickly they couldn't wrap their head around what happened. Jaune's sword flew out of his hands and hit the ground a few feet away.

Koamaru held up a short scythe. The hilt was a coffee brown and the blade was black. She smiled and made an attempt to provoke her. "I was ordered not to kill you, but who says you can't die in an accident?" She stepped aside as a bullet flew past her head.

Lilah aimed her sword at her. The blade was bent at a forty-five degree angle, revealing her hidden gun. "Try anything else and I swear to God... I _will_ kill you."

Koamaru grinned. "I know." With a swift yank of her chain, the spear head unhooked itself from Jaune's arm and she sent a kick to his side. She whipped the chain toward Ruby and it wrapped around her. She jerked her arm to the right, sending the girl flying. All in the bat of an eye.

The woman suddenly vanished, reappearing in front of Lilah in an instant. "What were you saying about killing me?"

Lilah made an effort to slice her arm off, but Koamaru pinned her wrist to the tree.

"You're too weak to even fight back," she said tauntingly.

Jaune, now behind her, attempted to strike, but she disappeared again. He stopped in his tracks for a good two seconds before Koamaru popped back and sent him back with an elbow to the chest so hard she managed to put a slight dent into his armor.

"Thana!" she called with an almost psychotic laugh.

Another woman came into view, a woman all too familiar. Eight arms, black skin, and bone-like armor was hard to forget, especially those crimson eyes.

"She's..." Lilah muttered. "I-I killed her! How-"

"She didn't die," Koamaru said. "You just broke her a little. Beryl gave her a little fixing up and now she's good as new!"

"Who is Beryl?" Ruby asked, stumbling to her feet with a bruised cheek.

"Why don't you tell her, Wisteria?" Koamaru looked over to the brunette hanging her head silently. "You've known him more than I have."

"Lilah?" Ruby said quietly; her friend refused to speak.

"Aw, she won't talk. Too bad." She pulled back her chain and it wrapped around Lilah. "I'll be on my way now."

"No!" Crescent Rose transformed into a war scythe as Ruby charged forward. Thana shot webs at her, catching her leg and part of her torso, giving her a horrible electric shock. Ruby cried in pain as she fell over, trembling as her body tensed.

"Ruby!" Jaune and Lilah yelled. The blonde stood, sword in hand, but Thana stood in front of him with her arms outstretched in an attempt to keep him at bay. He attacked, but she grabbed onto the blade and his arms, throwing him aside.

Koamaru swung Lilah over her shoulder and began to run away from the scene. "Stop!" Lilah screamed. "Let me go! No...! I'm not going back!"

"No one's hear to save you~" the woman sang with a chuckle. She disappeared from sight, and so did Lilah.

Once Thana brought Jaune back down, she quickly followed in their direction. "Dammit!" the blonde yelled.

He brought his attention to Ruby and raced over to her, cutting off the webs as fast as he could. He helped her sit up as she held her abdomen. "Are you all right?" he questioned.

She nodded and looked around. "Where-where's Lilah?" She had been in so much pain, she wasn't able to focus on what was happening.

"They... took her," Jaune muttered.

"We can't let them get away!" Ruby staggered to her feet and picked up her weapon.

"It's no use... They're too fast for us," he said. "I think Koamaru's Semblance has something to do with illusions or invisibility; if we can't see her, there's no use in chasing after her. Besides, right now isn't the best time..." He glanced over to Qrow. "We'd have to find her once we make it to Mistral and recover. We don't stand a chance with just the two of us, or even with Ren and Nora. The four of us couldn't even beat Tyrian."

Ruby stared at the ground. "Yeah... I guess you're right."

Suddenly, quick footsteps became audible. It sounded as if someone was running. The two turned toward the entrance and spotted Ren and Nora rushing over. "What happened here?" Ren asked.

"Someone took Lilah," Jaune said. "I think their Semblance might be illusions or invisibility, so even if we started going after them, we wouldn't be able to find them."

"And that person Lilah took down yesterday," Ruby said, "she's back!"

Nora's eyes widened. "How can that be?!" she said. "She was cut clean in half! How..."

Ren suddenly fell to his knees after catching a glimpse of something in the distance, past the buildings. He mumbled with wide eyes, "No..."

"Ren! What is it?!" Ruby asked.

"Wait..." Jaune uttered. He could hear what sounded like a horse slowly trotting. "You guys hear that?"

"No..." Ren lowered his head.

"Ren?" The redhead's voice trembled as the sound of hooves got louder. Ren raised his head as he and the others stared in horror at a large Grimm standing several yards away.

It was a horse, but on its back was a humanoid figure with horns. Dozens of spears and arrows stuck out of its back, weapons that were similar to the ones used by the warriors that resided in Kuroyuri. Its bone mask had red markings on it, and its eyes looked like glowing crimson marbles.

It began to roar.

Lilah shot upward after blacking out. Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the room she wished she'd forget: she was sitting in a cage. The bars were thick, but the spaces between were big enough for her to possibly fit through.

She didn't feel as weak as before, but she still felt a little woozy and it was a struggle just to move around fully. Her wounds were newly dressed, but it took a moment to realize someone had changed her into a white T-shirt and a pair of plain white pants. Her ears flattened against her head and her tail rested on the ground behind her.

"Ugh, it's about time you woke up." Koamaru approached the cage and looked down on her with a smirk. She unlocked the door and stepped in, leaving it open. "You wanna leave, right? If you can get past me, I'll let you go."

In a split second, Lilah was right next to her. She threw a punch, but Koamaru grabbed her fist and flipped her over. She landed on her back, but jumped right back up and tried again.

And again.

And again.

And again...

She kept trying to the point she couldn't stand up anymore; Koamaru laughed, pinning her to the ground with a boot to her chest. "I almost feel bad for you..." she said. "Just kidding, hahaha!"

"I said to keep her alive, not beat her to death," a male said. Lilah tensed up once she realized who it was. Koamaru stepped off of her, and the injured brunette sat up, backing herself into a corner.

A blue-haired man walked over and stood at the entrance, his hands behind his back. He wore a long, white lab coat; a navy blue shirt; hazel pants; black dress shoes; and a red tie. His eyes were cobalt blue with a scar running down his left eye.

He chuckled at her fear. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said. "Remember when you did this to me." He gestured toward the scar on his face.

Lilah said nothing.

"I see you haven't changed," he said. "Still cowering like a little girl. Did Ozpin not teach you anything? What about that crow?"

She remained silent.

"So you're suddenly a mute?" He walked over and kneeled down in front of her.

"G-Get back!" Lilah yelled.

"I see you're not."

"I said get back!" She swatted at him, but he held her wrist in his grasp. With his free hand, he held out a pair of thick-chained shackles. "Wha-"

"Your new friends are sure to come eventually. What a pain that would be," he said. "For the time being, I'm going to have you locked up somewhere... _private_. It'd be a shame if they were to take you back; Her Grace wouldn't be pleased."

Lilah stared at him in horror. "You... mean Salem...!"

"Bingo!" The man grinned mischievously as he secured a shackle on her wrist. "And you'll be going to see her _very_ soon."

"No way in hell!" The brunette fought back with all her might, but it was difficult due to her limbs not cooperating well.

Koamaru pulled out a small can and put it up to her face, spraying an oddly-colored gas. Lilah smacked it away, but the gas already took effect; she felt her body gradually become limp, and she quickly went unconscious.

"Where are you going to put her, Beryl?" Koamaru questioned.

"It's an underground room," the man stated simply.

"Ooh~" Koamaru squealed in excitement. "Like a dungeon?"

"Call it whatever you like."

"Dungeon it is~" Koamaru watched as Beryl hoisted the girl over his shoulder and stepped out of the cage. She followed, inquiring, "I get to have my fun with her, right?"

"As long as you don't kill her," Beryl said. "She is an important part of Her Grace's scheme; she would have both of our heads if we failed."

"Understood~"


	9. IX

"I have to say, Qrow, this all seems very reckless, even for you," Leonardo said. He leaned forward on his desk, resting against his elbows. Qrow, Ruby, and Jaune stood in front of him, while the rest of RNJR sat off to the side at a small coffee table.

" _No_ , 'reckless' is leaving one of the relics completely unguarded," Qrow retorted, arms crossed. "It's not checking in with Oz for ages."

"There was nothing to check in about before the Fall of Beacon," the headmaster stated. "But since that day, Mistral's been in _chaos_!" He stood and held his hands behind his back. "Vale wasn't the only kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching - every house in every Kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces; saw monsters crawling over the city; Atlesian knights attacking citizens... and then nothing. You could feel the dread in the air.

With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came after us. Mistral's controlled territory is the widest reaching in the world, y'know, and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. We lost so many great Huntsmen, teachers from this very institution, and it's only gotten worse."

"W-What do you mean?" Ruby stammered.

Leonardo stood at the window with his hands on the sill. "We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral council's still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First, it was the Dust embargo. Now, it's the closing of borders." He turned around to face them. "I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have worsened some of his more... _unfortunate_ tendencies." He let out a weary sigh. "And, on top of everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is."

"All the more reason we need the Huntsmen and Huntresses _here_!" Qrow snapped.

"Okay! Okay!" Ruby quickly chimed in as she walked over. "Things are bad. They're _bad_." She continued calmly, "But we can figure this out." She looked at Lionheart. "Why is this Spring Maiden so important?"

The lion glanced at the crow with the dullest expression he's had since they arrived. "I thought you filled them in."

" _Mostly_ filled in," Qrow corrected. "Look, there's a lot to cover, okay?" He pulled out his flask and unscrewed the cap. "I quit teaching for a reason." Leonardo sat down and slumped over in his chair as Qrow took a long sip.

"The Four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic, and _they_ are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics," he said.

"What?" Jaune said.

"The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden," Qrow uttered. "Winter for the gift of Creation; Summer for Destruction; Fall for Choice; and Spring for Knowledge." He took a swig of booze. "Spring is the problem."

"What happened to her?" Ren asked.

"She was determined at first when she inherited her powers," Leonardo explained, "but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She... ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now."

"I know," Qrow said. "At least, I have a pretty good idea."

Lionheart stood. "Are you serious?"

"It's not exactly good news."

"What are you talking about? This is incredible news!" The headmaster was overjoyed. He walked over to Qrow and held his shoulders. "After all these years! Where?!"

Qrow gently pushed him aside. "I did some digging around," he said. "Looks like after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits. Specifically, the Branwen tribe."

"Raven," Leonardo muttered.

Ruby gasped as Jaune inquired, "Yang's mom?"

"That's right," Qrow said, setting his scroll on the desk. A map of Remnant appeared as a hologram; a box zoomed in on a certain point located in the forests of Anima. "That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe. And I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier."

"Well, Qrow, I've got to hand it to you," Leonardo said. "With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks."

"A few _weeks_?"

"That's right." The lion typed in a quick code on the holographic keyboard and the map disappeared.

"Leo, maybe you didn't hear me," Qrow said as the other went to sit down. "My sister has the Spring Maiden and I know where she is. We have to go as soon as possible!" He swiped his arm over the top of the desk, clearing it of any sort of books he had.

"And perhaps you didn't hear _me_. This kingdom is in shambles. As soon as possible does _not_ mean tomorrow, it means as soon as I can convince the rest of the council that _I_ need Huntsmen more than _they_ do. Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't very high on their list of 'priorities' when the threat of war is just on the horizon."

"Then damn the council, we'll do it ourselves. You and I are trained Huntsmen, and these kids aren't exactly pushovers."

"Yeah!" Nora said.

"Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?" Ren questioned.

"We need to get Spring as far away from here as possible, but Raven isn't going to give up her most prized possession without a fight," Qrow said.

"Unfortunately, you and your sister are evenly matched," the headmaster enlightened, "and I'm not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students and I can't take on an entire bandit tribe _and_ a Maiden that's no doubt had years to hone her skills. We need to be positive we can apprehend Spring, because if we fail, Raven and her tribe will scatter and we'll be lost. We get _**one**_ shot at this, and it needs to be perfect."

After a few moments of silence, Qrow sighed. "You know, Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here."

"Perhaps you're right. But he's not, and I'm doing the very best I can."

"There has to be something we can do?" Ruby said quietly.

"What about Cinder?" Jaune asked. It seemed just the thought of her made his blood boil. "She came with Emerald and Mercury from Haven. Do you have anything on them?"

"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon," Leonardo responded. "Nothing but lies and forgeries."

The blonde clenched his fists and suppressed a growl. His anger for Cinder was almost unbearable; she was going to pay for what she did, and he was going to make sure of it.

"Well, I can't say this has been a warm reunion, Leo," Qrow said. 

"I'm sorry," Leonardo apologized. "I know you've all traveled a long way. But I will do everything I can to help."

"Sure," Qrow said. "We'll stay in the city for the time being, but first, I have something to take care of." He held out his scroll. "Keep in touch." He turned around, muttering, "C'mon, kids," as he walked through the door.

Ruby was the last to leave as she bid Leonardo farewell. "It was nice meeting you, Professor."

"Likewise."

Ruby walked out and shut the door, quickly catching up with the others.

"Are we going after Lilah?" Jaune asked.

" _I_ will," Qrow said. "I want you kids to stay at the house while I'm gone."

"But why?" Ruby said. "We can't just sit here and do nothing whi-"

"I fought her assailants before. You don't know them like I do. Beryl's a madman; he'd do anything to get what he wants."

"Koamaru mentioned that name," Jaune said. "Who is he?"

Qrow was silent for a few moments. "He used to be a teacher at Beacon back when I first started," he said.

"Used to?" Ruby said. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah... it's a pretty gruesome story, so I'll cut the details." He paused. "He always had a strange obsession with Grimm, so he sent out several teams to capture a few during their first week. They were completely surrounded, and, well... I think you can guess how that ended."

RNJR stayed silent as they continued listening.

"At first, everyone let it slide, since the students he had sent weren't exactly great in combat. But, the same thing happened again the following week, though it was a whole class. Barely anyone survived. After it was revealed he was putting his students in danger on purpose, he lost his title as professor and was put under arrest, but he ran off and hid here, in Mistral. If he was able to figure out where Lilah was, then he must've sent someone to spy on her. Or he's just good at finding people."

"Why would someone do such a thing...?" Nora mumbled.

"It's all about the Grimm," Qrow said. "That's pretty much all he lives for nowadays."

"Do his Grimm fantasies have anything to do with Lilah?" Jaune asked.

"Is it the reason why people are calling her Wisteria?" Ruby added.

"That's... a story for another time," Qrow said. "I made a promise that I would keep my mouth shut about her past, so if you want to know, you'll have to ask her yourselves. Just don't bug her if she refuses to say anything. You'll just piss her off, and you won't like it when she's pissed off."

"All right, but..." Ruby murmured, "we can help find her!"

"I already know where she may be," Qrow said. "I found a small lab a couple years back. It's not too far away from the city Wind Path. It's the ideal location for people who want to hide from authorities, which makes sense on his part."

"We can help fight!"

"I know you can, but knowing Beryl, he'd try anything from an ambush to poisoning the area."

"Which is why you'd need all the help you can get!" Nora said.

"If we stick together and fight, we'd stand more of a chance," Jaune went on.

"It would be better if I went alone," Qrow stated. "My Semblance would only affect him and his allies."

"You could..." Ruby thought for a moment, "fight _away_ from us...?"

The Huntsman sighed. "You're going to try and think of every way to come along, aren't ya?"

Ruby nodded. "I want to help. _We_ want to help."

Qrow sighed once more. "All right, fine. You lot wouldn't listen to me, anyway."

The oubliette had cages along the side walls, each containing what appeared to be a deformed Grimm. In the center of the room, there was a large stairway. There was an unopened trap door hidden on the ceiling.

It was nearly pitch dark; a single torch sat on either side of the stairway, giving off at least a little illumination.

Lilah was on her knees, chained to a wooden post in the back of the room.. She hung her head, beaten and bruised as Koamaru continued to harass her. As the hours passed, she all of a sudden became silent. No matter what happened to her, she had nothing to say.

"Don't tell me you've given up already?" she said, twirling her dagger in her hand.

The brunette glowered, but didn't bother to say anything.

"Come on, _speak_!" Koamaru sent a kick to her jaw.

Lilah spit blood from her mouth; she remained silent.

Koamaru thought for a moment as she smirked. "I hear you made some new friends after you left some years ago. Ozpin and that crow?"

The brunette began to glower.

"Honestly, I think the old man deserved what happened at Beacon-"

" _Don't you **dare** talk shit about him, you bi-_" Lilah gasped as the other grabbed her throat.

"You're pretty sensitive when it comes to Ozpin." After a few tense seconds, she released her and stood. "What about the little birdie, hmm?~"

"I will _**rip**_ your throat out if you so much as lay a finger on him," Lilah bellowed through clenched teeth.

"You won't feel that way once you learn the truth."

"What are you talking about?"

Koamaru laughed. "You mean you don't know? You believed Ozpin? You believed all of those lies?"

"He would never lie to me! He wouldn't!" She refused to be manipulated by someone who's words couldn't be trusted.

"I honestly don't blame them," Koamaru said. "You are a weapon."

"No! I'm not!"

"I don't care if you believe me or not." She shrugged her shoulders with a small, mischievous smile. "You can ask him yourself when you meet him again."

"How can I meet someone who's dead?" Lilah growled quietly. "What are you gonna do? Kill me?"

Koamaru was hysterical at this point; she wiped tears from her eyes as she tried to control her laughter. "He never told you? Hahaha, he's so in for it~"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Oh, don't worry, little flower. Everything will be revealed eventually." She slid her dagger into its sheath before pausing.

A faint yell echoed from above. Lilah's enhanced hearing made her able to figure out who it was; she was relieved to hear Qrow's voice, but she was also scared. If he was by himself, he didn't stand a chance against the opponents he was about to face.

"He's arrived sooner than expected," Koamaru said, giggling happily. "Such euphoria!"

"Don't you dare hu-" Lilah gasped for air as Koamaru's boot connected with her gut, knocking the wind out of her. She struck her once more in the chest and disappeared before her eyes. The brunette coughed and wheezed, struggling to catch her breath due to the force of the blow.

She heard another, more audible voice call her name. Once she caught her breath, she yelled, "Ruby?! Qrow?!"

"Lilah!" Ruby sounded elated. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"Is she in the floor?" she heard Nora say.

There was a short silence, followed by a loud blast. The ceiling caved in and crumbled. Lilah shut her eyes and coughed.

The dust cloud cleared in time for her to see Qrow jump down, as well as Team RNJR.

"Lilah!" Ruby raced over in a spiral of rose petals, embracing her tightly. Lilah rested her chin on her shoulder and looked up at Qrow; she fought back tears, overjoyed to see everyone.

The others seemed both horrified and confused as they quickly noticed the strange creatures in the cells.

Jaune pulled his attention away from them and hurried over to Lilah, cutting the chains. With the help of him and Ruby, she stood.

"We need to get out of here," she said frantically. "Koamaru is still here."

Qrow pulled out his sword and spun around, deflecting a spear-headed chain that came his way. Koamaru appeared a few feet away, holding up a scroll. She laughed as she recorded them. "Look who crashed the party!" she said. She ended the video and quickly sent it to the blue-haired maniac. "I think Beryl's gonna be pissed~"

"W-We need to leave!" Lilah said, tugging on Qrow's arm. "Before he gets here!"

"You're going to be fine," he assured her. "We-"

"You don't know his Semblance! It'll be bad news if we run into him!"

"Is his Semblance really that bad?" Ruby asked.

"He can kill you in a heartbeat if he really wanted to!" Lilah said. Her voice wouldn't stop shaking. "No matter how strong you are!"

Qrow was still for a moment, pondering whether or not to fight.

Beryl was definitely bad news. It was true he never got to see his Semblance, but if it was really that powerful, he didn't think he'd ever want to have to experience it.

His weapon deactivated and he put it away. Koamaru cackled as he scooped the young brunette up in his arms. "Are you giving up?" Koamaru inquired. "How disappointing..."

"You're not my top priority," Qrow said. He turned around to the teens behind him.

"Are we seriously running away?" Jaune's eyes narrowed slightly. He seemed disappointed.

"We're not _running_. You're not ready to go against him. Neither of you are. Now let's go."

Koamaru watched silently as the Huntsman jumped back through the giant hole the redhead created. The others followed, but Jaune took one last glance at her before catching up with them.

She smirked and scanned the cages. "These things are failures anyway, so Beryl wouldn't mind if I used them," she murmured to herself. She held one end of her chain and whipped it across the room, slicing through all of the bars.

A variety of Grimm forced their way through: Creeps, Beringels, Beowolves, and what appeared to be the mix of a Nevermore and a Griffon.

The Grimm stood around her silently.

"What are you waiting for?" Koamaru said. " _Go after them_."

The creatures scattered and clumsily climbed up the stairs and past the rubble.

The woman giggled quietly. "Leave Qrow Branwen to me."


	10. X

The last Grimm was cut down, but it didn't take long for them to realize that they weren't normal Grimm.

"They're not disappearing..." Jaune said. "We killed them, didn't we?"

RNJR, as well as Qrow and Lilah, brought their attention to Koamaru, who just exited the laboratory. She seemed displeased, but she was smiling. The teens figured she was just as crazy as her boss.

"You'd like to know?" the young woman said, slowly spinning her chain. "It's not a pretty answer."

Qrow and Lilah were silent; Ruby looked over to them. "Do you know something?"

"Of course they do~" Koamaru replied. "Why don't you tell them, Lilah?"

The brunette, who stood by a tree, finally spoke after a few moments. "They aren't... entirely Grimm."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked.

"They're also... human."

An eerie silence filled the air as Team RNJR tried to wrap their heads around what she just said. Neither of them had ever heard of human Grimm.

"You have something else to say, don't you?~" Koamaru urged. 

" ** _She doesn't have to say a damn thing_** ," Qrow bellowed, raising his sword slightly.

"All right, then." The black-haired woman grinned. "Let's find out the hard way." She vanished from sight, reappearing behind the Huntsman.

"Qrow!"

He swung his sword horizontally, centimeters away from striking her. Koamaru sprang upward and whipped her chain forward. Qrow managed grabbed a hold of it and pulled, slicing through the air once she was close enough.

With her miniature scythe, she deflected the blade and landed on top of it, crouched down as she stared up at him. She gave him a wide smile. "What a speedy little bird you are," she said. "I hope you won't disappoint me."

She made a swing at his face with her scythe, but he grasped her wrist and jerked his sword out from underneath her. He attempted to flip her over, but she broke free before she could even hit the ground. She made a back-flip and landed a few feet away.

Ruby fired an Electric Dust bullet; it flew past the brunette's head and she glanced at her. "Don't ruin my fun~" she said. "I've never fought such a skilled Huntsman before."

"I want _all of you_ to stay back," Qrow ordered. "Don't make me repeat myself." The two clashed once more. He made haste to keep up with her now frenzied attacks.

Ruby found it unbearable to sit back and watch; the only one holding her back was a trembling Lilah. She stood beside her as Jaune, Ren, and Nora stood up front. "Are you all right?" Ruby asked.

Lilah shook her head over and over. "W-we need to leave...!" she said. "I hear him... He'll be here any second!" 

"What do you m-"

A bullet shot past Ruby's arm, barely grazing her.

As the fight between Qrow and Koamaru halted, the black-haired woman sighed in discontent as they all brought their attention toward the direction of the gunfire.

Beryl walked out from behind a tree, a revolver in his hands. An unfamiliar Grimm stood behind him; it was fairly large and resembled the humanoid half of the Nuckelavee. Its arms were longer than its body, and its three toes and fingers were lengthy with sharp-pointed white claws. Its face was much more human-like but was covered entirely with a Grimm mask.

The old man seemed vexed as he mumbled to himself. "I didn't expect them to be here so soon..." His gaze went from Qrow to the teens as he put his gun in the holster on his belt. He scowled and looked at Koamaru. "I see you've let them free her."

"Oh, don't worry so much!" Koamaru said. "I was going to take care of it once I finished with Qrow."

"Your fun can continue with those children," Beryl stated.

The gears on Qrow's Harbinger turned as it transformed into a scythe. The Huntsman glared and stood his ground. "Leave them out of it," he said. "I'm your opponent."

"Return Wisteria and I shall leave those students unharmed," Beryl said.

"You're wrong if you think we'll just hand her over."

Team RNJR held their weapons firmly, and Beryl chuckled. "You're only making things easier for me."

"Qrow-" Lilah started, but suddenly froze, as did the others. A grayish Aura surrounded them as Beryl approached him.

"What do you plan on doing?" Koamaru inquired curiously.

"You'll see." Beryl unsheathed his dagger and impaled Qrow's side quickly and calmly. A couple seconds later, the Aura around everyone disappeared. It took a few moments for them to realize what had happened.

Qrow's breath hitched as Beryl ripped the blade from his abdomen.

Lilah let out a scream and ran over.

The four teenagers stared in shock and horror at an Alpha that was once Lilah. It towered over Qrow, holding him up with one of its large hands. The Grimm clawed at Beryl, but Koamaru grabbed him and jumped back before he was hit.

The Grimm, which RNJR found it hard to believe it was really Lilah, stood in a protective stance while gently holding him. It bared its fangs and let out an enraged howl.

Beryl laughed in a psychotic manner. "Magnificent!" he hollered. "Absolutely astonishing! You have progressed greatly over the years!"

"W-what the..." Jaune stammered. He was unsure whether or not to be frightened; his teammates clearly felt the same way.

"I thought she was just a Faunus!" Nora admitted.

"Is that... really her?" Ren murmured, barely able to speak up.

Ruby stood beside him, dumbfounded. She quickly found herself quietly weeping as she stared down at her uncle. "Uncle Qrow..."

Lilah's ears twitched as she turned her head toward her. She looked back at Beryl and kept her crimson eyes glued to him as she made her way to Ruby. She set Qrow on the ground and the redhead kneeled down beside him, putting pressure on his wound immediately.

He was still conscious, but he was sweating and breathing heavily.

Lilah lunged toward Beryl and Koamaru, but they dodged. She went at them again and clawed repeatedly. Koamaru pulled Beryl back and sliced Lilah's arm, but it proved to do nothing as she grabbed the woman by her face and threw her into the wall of the lab. She broke through and the wall collapsed on her.

"Hiei." Beryl turned toward the humanoid Grimm behind him. It simply nodded without a word and charged in for an attack.

Both Grimm were on equal terms regarding strength and speed.

Koamaru pushed stone rubble off of herself and stood. Blood ran down either side of her face and she had nasty bruises on her torso and arms. She raced over to Beryl as he pulled out a small circular object from his coat. He pressed a button on it and threw it toward Lilah.

The humanoid Grimm, Hiei, quickly retreated, taking Beryl and Koamaru with it as it escaped into the trees.

The object exploded; a strange, red gas clouded around Lilah. She abruptly whipped around to face the others and bellowed.

"Lilah...?" Ruby said. Qrow grabbed onto her arm and she helped him sit up.

He sat on one knee, doubling over as he held his injury. "The gas..." he said. "She's... going berserk..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaune asked.

"Look out!" Nora yelled as Lilah barreled toward them. Ruby and Jaune held onto Qrow; they all managed to get out of the way before she attacked.

Qrow picked up his scythe and stumbled to his feet.

"Wait!" Ruby said. "You can't fight!"

"Does it look like... I have a choice...?" He coughed and grimaced as his body tensed. His weapon converted into a sword; he used that to keep himself up.

"What are we supposed to do?!" Nora yelled as she and Ren dodged a pounce.

"Has this ever happened to her before?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah... but we actually had an easy solution..." Qrow panted. "Our best bet... is to knock her out."

"We can manage that on our own!" Ruby said. "You can't-"

The Grimm dashed over and swiped at them. She just missed, but quickly pounced, pushing Jaune and Ruby aside. A deep growl emitted from her throat as Qrow's Harbinger was the only thing between her claws and his throat.

"Lilah!" Jaune yelled. "You need to snap out of it! Please!"

The Alpha paused, staring at the blonde. She seemed to falter for a moment.

Ruby shot forward in a spiral of roses, smashing into Lilah's chest. The impact ultimately knocked her back, but she swatted at the girl and sent her flying. Ren caught her in midair and set her on her feet.

"Jaune got through to her!" Nora said. "We can still-"

"Save your breath, kids..." Qrow struggled to stand. "It won't work. Trust me... I've tried many times."

"But she can still hear us, right?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, but the most she'll do is hesitate. The more you try to get through to her... the more you aggravate the Grimm part of her."

The creature emitted a deep growl, seemingly frustrated as it ran from one to the other, almost desperate to land a strike.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Nora asked, swinging her hammer in time to counter. Lilah swiped once more, slamming the redhead into a tree.

Jaune stood beside Qrow, helping him get around as well as defend themselves. "I'll explain later!" Qrow said. "Focus on-" He began to cough as he gripped his wound tightly.

As the others distracted her, the blonde sat Qrow against a tree. "Is there anything we need to know right now?" he questioned.

"Just end it quickly..." Qrow muttered. "She's a lot stronger than a regular Grimm... so you don't have to worry about killing her... But she'll go crazy if you drag it on for too long..."

Jaune nodded and raced into battle.

Lilah's attacks were everywhere, barely leaving any openings. But Jaune hastily managed to come up with a strategy off the top of his head that may or may not work.

"Ren!" he called. "You and I can distract her! Ruby, Nora! Wait until I say the word!"

His teammates gave a quick nod; the redheads stepped back from the fight, positioning themselves on tree branches. Ren and Jaune circled around the Grimm, shooting and slashing once they found themselves able.

The Alpha howled and instantaneously pinned down both males underneath her. Her crimson eyes were centered on them; paying no mind to the girls who stood quietly in the leaves.

"Ruby!"

"Right!" Ruby sped over in the bat of an eye and swiped under Lilah's feet, breaking her balance. She soared upward in a tornado of roses, bringing the Grimm with her.

"Nora, nail it!"

Jaune and Ren quickly rolled away as Nora jumped off of the tree. She swung Magnhild as hard as she could, launching a grenade at the last second to increase the force of the blow.

Lilah rammed into the ground, creating a large pit where she landed. The team anxiously surrounded the cloud of dirt and dust, waiting to see whether or not the plan worked.

Lilah pounced out of the crater, bellowing as she flailed about in fury.

"Dammit!" Jaune snapped as he and his friends barely managed to dodge the assault.

Suddenly, black objects shot from the ground and twisted itself around her.

"Are those... shadows?" Ren questioned, noting how well it blended in with the shade in the area.

"Looks like it..." Nora murmured.

Instead of further questioning it, Jaune figured it would be best to use it to their advantage.

The Grimm continued to violently struggle and shriek, attempting to break free. But, due to the blows, she seemed a bit distorted and weakened.

"Ruby! Nora!" The girls turned toward Jaune. "If you combine your attacks, you might be able to knock her unconscious!"

"But I..." Ruby muttered. Her weapon trembled in her hands, unable to keep herself from shaking. "I-I can't hurt her again..." She had hoped once would work. "What if we-"

"She'll be fine..." Qrow uttered. His voice was weak and his eyes were lackluster, but he still managed to be reassuring. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to take her down."

Nora stood beside Ruby, but the silver-eyed girl couldn't help but hesitate.

"She won't be upset with you... That's a promise."

Ruby stood still, contemplating whether or not she should go through with it.

The shadows were torn apart as Lilah ripped her arms free.

"Ruby!" Jaune said.

With tears in her eyes, Ruby bolted forward, leaving a thick trail of rose petals. Magnhild was held firmly in Nora's grip as she was pulled into Ruby's spiral.

In the blink of an eye, there was a collision and the Grimm was seen laying on its side once the dust cleared. Ruby and the others raced over, and Jaune kneeled down by her head.

"Don't worry," he said. "She's still breathing."

"Might want to cover her with something..." Qrow suggested.

The Grimm's fur and bones gradually blended into pale skin, and her bones began to shrink. It seemed like a slow process, but a now stark naked Lilah lied on the ground in front of them. Her wounds from before were almost completely gone, though they left nasty scars.

One thing hadn't changed, though: Her hair color was jet black.

Ruby wiped away her tears and pulled off her cloak, laying it on top of the brunette.

"I'll contact the headmaster," Ren said, taking out his scroll as he stepped aside.

"Jaune and I can search the lab for some bandages," Nora stated. She turned toward Ruby. "Think you can keep an eye on Qrow and Lilah?"

The silver-eyed girl nodded as Crescent Rose folded back into its much smaller form; she set it aside as Nora and Jaune raced into the small, white building.

Using the tree as a support, Qrow hauled himself to his feet and began to stumble his way over to his niece.

"W-what are you doing?" Ruby hurried over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You shouldn't be walking yet."

"Heh, I'll be fine, kiddo..." Ruby helped him sit down beside Lilah; he patted Ruby on the head comfortingly as she stared at the ground. "Don't beat yourself up about it."

"I'm just..." Ruby sighed quietly, wiping her eyes with her hand. "Why didn't she tell us...?"

Qrow exhaled wearily. "...I'll explain everything back at the house... _if_ she'll let me."

His niece nodded before they both turned to Ren. "They're sending a ship our way," he said. "It shouldn't take long."

"Right..." The crow slowly lied himself down, loosely holding his side.

"Uncle Qrow-"

"Calm down, kid... I told you I was fine, didn't I?"

Ruby stammered, "I-I know, but-"

"Relax."

"Everything is going to be fine, Ruby," Ren assured her.

"Try not to stress yourself out." Jaune walked over with Nora by his side, both carrying Lilah's clothing, weapons, and spare bandages. "We'll be back before you know it."

The brunette stirred a bit; it took a moment for her to realize she was awake.

She groaned quietly as she sat up and held her head.

"Lilah!" Ruby cried, smothering her in bear hugs. "You're awake!"

"Ruby-" Lilah suddenly fell silent as she managed to recall what happened the previous day.

"Hey, what's-"

"I'm sorry..." Lilah's eyes began to well up.

"There's no need to apologize. Everyone's safe-"

"I-I'm so, so sorry..." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she covered her face.

It took a moment to understand why she was so upset. "You know, I should be the one to apologize, not you..." Ruby murmured, tearing up a bit as well.

Lilah shook her head. "I heard everything... It was your only option, and I want to say thank you for doing it."

"But-but why?"

"I could've killed you!" the brunette cried. She slowly started to break down as she continued. "And Jaune! Nora! Ren! Qrow...!" She began to sob. "It's all my fault... Everyone got hurt because of me... and now he knows where I am! I don't doubt he'll come back for me... You all should've killed me when-"

Ruby pulled her into a tight embrace. "Don't say things like that..." she said quietly. "We could never do that to you!"

"It would be mercy now..."

Ruby tightened her grip.

"If you knew about my past, you'd understand..." Lilah muttered. "Go ask Qrow... Honestly, I don't care _what_ he tells you. You already know I'm a Grimm, so I don't see the point in hiding it anymore."

"Lilah." Ruby pulled back and stared at her in the eyes. "You being half Grimm doesn't mean anything. It doesn't define you. It doesn't make you any less human than I am, or anyone else. You still have a heart - you care about every one of us, even if you don't act like it. And _we_ care about _you_. So please... trust us. I don't know what's happened to you, and I can't begin imagine how hard it must've been for you, but know we'll always be there for you. No matter what. I promise."

The brunette burst into tears. Her throat burned as she forced back sobs.

Ruby pulled her into her arms tightly, and the two sat in silence.


	11. XI

Jaune stared down at a young tanned boy standing at the doorway. He was wearing a scuffed white shirt, olive-colored pants with orange suspenders, and a pair of brown boots. Nora and Ren looked on curiously as the blonde questioned the child. "Can I... help you?"

"Uhh... yeah," the boy said. He kept his voice low out of nervousness as he shuffled his feet and held his hands together. "Is there a... Ruby Rose here?"

Nora and Ren stood as the three of them glowered. "Why?" the redhead demanded sternly.

"Well..." The boy was interrupted as a drunk crow reeled over.

Qrow held onto the lad's shoulder with a goofy grin spread across his face. "IIIIIIII found him!" he cheered, dragging on his words. He burst into laughter and stumbled over to the couch.

"I think her uncle could use some help..."

Qrow toppled over on the sofa, repeating breathlessly yet bubbly, "I found him."

"What is going on out there?!" Ruby yelled, storming over from upstairs. Lilah followed close behind. "Can't Lilah and I talk in peace?!"

Qrow belched.

Ruby sighed loudly and face-palmed. "Qrow, did you get drunk again?"

"Maaybe...?"

"Oh," the boy murmured, focusing on her. The teens brought their attention to him. "You... have silver eyes."

Ruby glanced over to Nora and Ren; the redhead shrugged. She looked back at the boy. "Who... are you?" she asked.

Qrow laughed wearily.

"Uh... well... My name is Oscar Pine," the boy said, holding his hands behind his back as he gazed back and forth from Ruby to the ground.

"Wait for it..." Qrow mumbled.

"But you probably know me as... Professor Ozpin?"

The former students exchanged looks; Lilah scowled.

Qrow laughed quietly before raising his head and arms, cheering. "I did it!" He rolled off the couch and lied face-down on the floor.

" _Bullshit_ ," Lilah stated dully with a frown, walking off without another word.

"L-Lilah!" Ruby said, but she was ignored.

"We can deal with her later..." Jaune murmured, focusing on Qrow. "Now about your uncle..."

Once Qrow was sober enough to get around steadily and control himself, the team raced over to Oscar, who was sitting down on a comfortable-looking, red armchair. 

"Did he age backwards?"

"He's possessed!"

"Or reincarnated!"

"Oh! Isn't it weird?!"

The farmhand stared at his hands, a bit intimidated from all the attention he was getting. "It is very weird, yes..." he said.

"Okay, okay." Qrow sauntered over with a smile on his face. "Let's all just take a second and remember that this is very overwhelming for everyone."

The teens nervously chuckled as they took a few steps back.

"Thanks," Oscar said. He couldn't keep his eyes off of Ruby as she and the others took a seat.

She noticed and giggled, giving him a friendly smile.

He returned a crooked smile and quickly turned away. "Ah, sorry! It's just, I've never really met Huntsmen and Huntresses before," he admitted.

"Well, uh... we've never met a person with two souls, so, first times all around," Ruby said.

Oscar chuckled, and Qrow cleared his throat before anyone else could say anything more. "Not to break up the whole 'getting-to-know-you' game," he said, "but we need to have a talk. Mind showing us your little parlor trick, kid?"

Oscar groaned quietly. "Yeah, okay." He raised his head to face everyone. "Just so you know, I'll still be here."

Jaune and Ren exchanged glances, and the girls raised their brows curiously as the brunet lowered his head and closed his eyes. He was silent for a few seconds before a wave of bright green Aura washed over him. He opened his eyes, which were also glowing for a brief moment as he placed either of his hands on the armrests.

"It is so very good to see you again, students." His voice was deeper, and his sudden way of speaking made him sound more adult-like.

RNJR looked back and forth between themselves in utter confusion. "Wait... what just happened?" Jaune asked.

"Professor... Ozpin?" Ren said.

"Correct," Ozpin replied with a nod. "And though I may be the one speaking, Oscar is still present, mentally. He's merely handed over the control, so to speak. I'm afraid this all must be very perplexing."

"And alarming, and bizarre, and just _really_ kind of hard to believe overall!" Nora said.

Ozpin chuckled with a small smile. "It's good to see you children still have your sense of humor." His expression suddenly saddened as he stared at the ground. "I know you've all been through tremendous hardship already. I'm sorry."

"I mean, it's not _your_ fault," Ruby said.

"It's all my fault." Ozpin lowered his head as Qrow stood and made his way into the kitchen. "I told you once that I made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, and I wasn't exaggerating.

I'm... cursed. For thousands of years, I've walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating in the body of a like-minded soul. The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form, and it clearly wasn't my last. It's... an extraordinarily strenuous process on everyone involved."

"So who..." Jaune paused, " _what_... are you?"

"I'm the combination of countless men who've spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remant." Qrow walked over and handed Ozpin a cup of cocoa, sitting down afterward. "With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another and I am changed, but my memories stay with me." He stared at his reflection on the surface of the beverage as he continued. "This curse was bestowed upon me by the gods because I failed to stop Salem in the past." He looked up. "But we _must_ stop her now."

"And how do we do that?" Ruby asked.

"We start... by ensuring the safety of the Relic of Knowledge."

"This is perfect!" Nora cheered flamboyantly, hopping off the couch. "We were stuck at a dead end, but now, we can just take cute-little-boy-Ozpin to Lionheart and have him set things straight!"

"Please don't call me that."

"We're not sure that's the best idea," Qrow said.

Nora groaned and plopped back onto the sofa, crossing her arms as she grumbled under her breath.  
"But I thought the headmasters all took their orders from you?" Ren said.

"That was the intention," Ozpin replied. "Four lieutenants I can trust, especially during times of reincarnation. But Qrow told me about your meeting with Leonardo." He stood up and walked over to a painting of Mistral and its waterfall, holding his hands behind his back. "He isn't just behaving irrationally, he's disobeying specific instructions I had left him." He held his chin. "Something's wrong. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out any possibilities either. No one outside of this room knows that I've paired with Oscar, and I think it may be best to keep it that way."

"Play things to the chest until we get a better hand," Qrow agreed.

"Precisely." Ozpin turned around. "Now, we have two steps ahead of us. The first is enlisting the aid of more Huntsmen."

"But the Mistral council-" Ren started.

"-Doesn't own every Huntsmen in the Kingdom," the crow informed. "And I've been here enough times to know where we can find some more."

"So long as they're trustworthy," Ozpin said.

"You can trust them to put up a good fight. I'll throw together a list tonight." He leaned back on the couch and propped his feet up on the table, but two of the legs gave out and it collapsed. The mug toppled onto the floor, shattering in pieces and leaving a pool of cocoa everywhere. He gasped loudly, quickly sitting up.

"Good luck with that," Nora said as he began to pick up the pieces.

Ozpin made his way back over to the chair, but remained standing. "After that, we can move on to step two."

"What's step two?" the redhead asked.

He pulled out his cane, pressing the hand guard. The shaft extended. "Getting you four into fighting shape."

"But, uh, we already know how to fight," Ruby said.

Ozpin pointed his cane to her face. "You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you're still lacking in hand-to-hand combat."

"Well, uh, yeah," she admitted with an awkward smile.

Ozpin turned toward Jaune. "Mr. Arc, I'm glad to hear you've improved, but sorry to say, you've yet to unlock your Semblance."

The blonde looked off to the side.

"All of you still have a ways to go before you're ready to pose any real threat to Salem and her forces. And though Oscar can give me temporary control, he'll need to strengthen his body and his Aura. He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice with expedite the process."

"But if Qrow's out looking for Huntsmen, then who's going to teach us?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin used his cane to launch himself into the air. With a few quick spins, he landed on the chair with ease and began twirling his cane in his hand. "Well, I believe I was the headmaster of Beacon Academy."

The teens stared at him in utter shock, but Nora was unamused.

"We have approximately one month before classes resume at Haven. If Salem were to plan an attack, it would make sense that it would occur prior to students' return. It's not much time, but it's better than nothing." He clutched the handle firmly with a smirk. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you."

His body gleamed black and green as the control abruptly switched back over to Oscar. The boy yelled in alarm. He lost his balance, knocking the chair backward as well as himself.

Everyone leaned over to check on him.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Oscar muttered.

"Um, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby turned to face the black-haired Huntsman, showing concern on her face.

"What is it, kiddo?"

"Does Lilah... know about any of this?" she asked. "About Ozpin being able to reincarnate, I mean."

Qrow sighed. "No... she doesn't."

"Now I do."

Everyone brought their attention to Lilah. She stood at the stairway, glowering at him. She took a glance at Oscar, causing the boy to quickly sit up and cringe under her cold, hard gaze. Her red eyes flared, expressing her anger.

"That is, if what he's saying isn't just a hoax," she scoffed.

"I know it's hard to believe," Qrow said. "But everything he said is true-"

"I want proof."

"What?"

Lilah stared at Oscar. "If your souls really combined, you'd be able to prove it to me easily."

"How would I-" Oscar started.

"By telling me my name. And I'm not talking about my pseudonym."

The brunet hesitated.

"I've only ever told Qrow and Ozpin. There's no way some random kid would know unless they ignored my wishes and told you for some odd reason, or... what was said earlier was true. So, what is my name?"

The air was tense as everyone waited for a response.

"...Wisteria," Oscar finally said; the teens seemed shocked and nervous. "You were also... experimented on by Beryl Azureus, and became a Grimm hybrid as a result..." He almost looked upset to say it.

Lilah emitted a sad, quiet laugh. "You're definitely my Ozzy. To think he never told me... I guess he didn't trust me."

"Of course he-"

"Enough. I don't want to hear it." She spun on her heel and headed toward the door, stopping before she stepped outside. She glanced over to the teenagers standing in silence. "If you have questions, go ask Qrow or Oz. Or, if you're gutsy enough, you can ask me. I'll be on the roof." Without another second to waste, she left the building.

"...Why didn't she know?" Oscar looked over at Qrow, and the other sighed.

"She wasn't doing well mentally, so Oz and I figured it was best to wait until she improved, but that time never came," he explained. "If she would've left out of suspicion, she would've been in a hell of a lot more danger than she is now."

"What do you mean?" Jaune questioned.

"Well... that means I have to tell you some of her story." Qrow sat down, and so did the others once Oscar picked up the chair. "You see... she's been a lab rat ever since she was born. I don't know the details of what the experiments actually were, but I think it's easy to tell it was petrifying enough to scar her for life.

Eight years ago, she broke out and escaped into the forest. I found her a few days later, ill, wounded, and surrounded by Grimm. I did what any Huntsman would do and got her out of harm's way. Eventually, I decided to bring her with me to Beacon after she explained her situation, and there, Ozpin made the final decision to help and protect her. Beryl was still out searching for her, and if he had found her, it wouldn't mean well for any of us. But that can wait for another time."

"Was there a specific reason you brought her with you in the first place?" Ren asked.

"Maybe if you let me finish, you would know," Qrow said. "She looked familiar to me, so I confronted Oz and he spilled the beans about her parents. Both of them were trained Huntsmen, but they weren't very well known."

"Did _you_ know them?" Ruby asked.

"I knew her mother," the crow replied. "She's actually an old friend of mine. We met each other when I first attended Beacon; she was three years ahead of me. Once she graduated, she quickly earned the title as Professor and was in charge of all of the sparring classes.

By the time the school year ended, she was married, and she was soon going to be a mother of two. I'm not sure if she quit or took a leave of absence, but she went to Mistral with her husband. Haven't heard from her since."

"Wait..." Nora murmured. "Lilah has a sibling?"

"That's what she told me," Qrow said with a shrug. "Whether or not the other kid is alive is kinda up in the air right now."

"Wouldn't that mean Beryl has them?" Ruby asked.

"It's a possibility."

"What about Lilah's mother? Is she alive?"

"After what happened the other day, I'm almost positive she's still kicking."

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"Her Semblance gives her the ability to manipulate shadows," Qrow said. "It may have been twenty years since I've seen it in action, but I'd recognize it anywhere."

"Wait, so those shadows was because of her?" Jaune asked. "How are you so sure? It could've been anyone."

"Heheh, let's just call it intuition."

Lilah's ears drooped as she buried her head in her arms, curled up in a ball on the roof. She felt herself choke up and her tears blurred her vision as everything Qrow said played through her mind like a broken record.

Soon enough, she crumbled, letting out all her anger and sorrow through pools of tears.


	12. XII

Lilah did nothing but sit on the rooftop silently.

She preferred to be in silence so she could think, but everyone was out back training while Qrow was out in the shady side of town searching for as many Huntsmen and Huntresses as he could find.

Oscar and Ruby had just finished their sparring match, and the lot began to talk amongst themselves.

Lilah groaned quietly, hearing someone call out to her.

"Lilah!" Nora called. "Oscar wants to spar with you!"

"N-no I don't!" the boy denied.

"I don't have time for this..." Lilah grumbled.

"Well, you sure have _plenty_ if you're sitting up there doing nothing!" the redhead retorted with a cheeky grin.

Lilah scowled, remaining silent for a few moments. "One round, and you all leave me alone," she said.

"Deal!"

The brunette slid down from the roof and landed beside Jaune.

Instead of hiding her Grimm features, she left her ears and tail out. It felt very refreshing, but odd at the same time. She's only ever done this while in Ozpin's office, or sleeping in her private dorm - a rare thing she never liked to do, since it meant she would be by herself.

"I hope you know I'm not holding back, farm boy," she said.

"I kinda figured..." Oscar murmured, holding his fists up and close to his body.

Lilah ran toward him, and he was ready to either guard and counter or attack head on. She quickly whirled behind him and swung her foot under his legs, but he jumped - to her surprise - and sent a punch her way.

She rolled to the side and grabbed his wrist, forcing it behind his back. Oscar attempted to elbow her with his free arm, but she blocked his attack with ease and flipped him over her shoulder.

He somehow managed to land on one of his feet, but she kicked his legs apart and knocked him over. Before he hit the ground, she grabbed onto his wrist. She kept her foot against one of his to keep him from sliding.

"Wow, that was fast..." Jaune muttered to himself as she pulled Oscar to his feet.

"Me next!" Nora said eagerly.

"No, we're done here," Lilah said. "You agreed to one round. I'm not doing anything more."

"Aww..."

"I'm already in a shitty mood. Begging me is only gonna make it worse."

Ruby sighed as Lilah jumped back to the roof where she could keep to herself. 

"Is she really that upset?" Jaune asked. "She's been up there since yesterday. I thought she would've cooled off by now?"

"Can't say I blame her," Ren said. "The truth was hidden from her for her whole life."

"She might still be trying to wrap her head around everything," Nora agreed.

"Y'know, I don't appreciate you talking about me," Lilah said, taking a peek down at them. "If you have something to say, then say it to my face."

"It's easy to tell all of this is hard on you," Ruby said, her brows curling in concern as she looked up at the red-eyed girl. "If you need help, all you have to do is say the word." It was clear to her that Lilah wouldn't accept any form of assistance unless she specifically wanted it, so their only choice was to wait.

Lilah sat there for a moment before grumbling under her breath. "Yeah, whatever." She disappeared to the other side of the roof.

"Has she... always been like this?" Oscar asked quietly.

"Honestly, I don't know her very well, so I can't say," Ruby said as she brought her gaze back to where Lilah was previously. "But I hope she'll open up to us soon..."

Qrow let out a weary sigh as he approached a run-down shack, soaked to the bone from the pouring rain. The walls were worn out, and the windows were boarded as if to keep someone - or something - out. Or maybe they were just broken.

He pulled out his scroll, reading out one of the last few names aloud. "Heather Shields." He knocked on the door a couple of times and turned around, spotting some kids running off.

The Huntsman stared back at the entrance, a look of frustration on his face as he knocked once more, using his fist. He waited a moment before raising his hand.

The door slowly opened before he could bang on it, revealing a brown-haired middle-aged man.

"Oh, uh, hey there," Qrow said. "I'm looking for Heather?"

The man gave no sort of response as he stood there silently. The look in his eyes made him seem empty, but Qrow was too exasperated to notice or even care.

"Look, pal, I've had a rough day," he said, raising his voice slightly, unintentionally. "Do you know where she is or not?"

"Daddy?" A small girl walked over. She had short, caramel-colored hair and was wearing a tattered periwinkle dress with a sangria vest. She held onto her father's clothes as she looked up at him with a hopeful gaze. "Does he know where Mommy is?"

"I, um..." Qrow's expression saddened as his shoulders slumped. He glanced upward at the man. "I'm... sorry to bother you."

The girl's brows curled as she frowned, walking back inside quietly. Her father followed, closing the door.

Qrow stood there for a moment before walking away. He stopped after a few feet and took a look at his scroll, staring at the last two names.

_Safira, Lynae_

_Aubergine, Calluna_

He mentally prayed but knew not to keep his hopes up; he couldn't find the dozens of other Huntsmen and Huntresses on his list, so there was much doubt he would be able to find anyone else.

The crow continued to the next house.

This one was just as small as the previous one, but it seemed to be in better condition. Qrow spotted a dim light through the window, and he felt a bit confident she would be home.

He headed over and knocked. The door opened slightly, but he couldn't see anyone.

"U-um... c-can I help you, mister?"

Qrow glanced down, noticing a little boy peeking through the crack. His black hair was unkempt, and its color gradated to a silvery-blue at the ends. He had a slight case of heterochromia, as his eyes were a forest green with sapphire around the pupil.

He wore a pair of brown shorts, a light blue hoodie, and a white tank top underneath.

"Hey, little guy," Qrow said. "I'm guessing Lynae is your mother?"

"Y-yes."

"Is she home?"

"Y-yes."

"Is it all right if I talk to her?"

"O-okay..." The boy turned his head. "Mommy, s-someone's at the door. He w-wants to talk to you..."

"Who is it?" a woman asked from inside.

"Uh..." the boy looked over to the Huntsman.

"Qrow."

He looked back at his mother. "U-uh, he said h-his name's Qrow."

"Qrow?!" The woman sounded excited as he heard rushed footsteps getting louder and louder.

The door opened completely, and he smiled at the familiar face. "Yo."

The woman had sapphire eyes and waist-length silver-blue hair, and she was wearing a long, tattered blue dress with a white, stained apron. She was short compared to him, her head reaching up to his shoulders.

"Qrow!" she yelled, jumping up so she could give him a hug. Her legs swung up and down as her son hid behind the door. "I can't believe it's you! It's been too long!"

"Way too long," Qrow agreed, setting the beaming woman on her feet. "I didn't know you had a kid."

Lynae nodded vigorously as she took a step aside. "This is Ame."

The little boy poked his head out and muttered a quick hello before going back to hiding.

"He's shy."

"I can see that."

Lynae finally took the time to notice the weather outside and the fact that her old friend was soaked. She failed to realize she, too, had gotten wet. "Oh, come in, come in!" She gestured him inside and Ame closed the door.

Lynae opened up one of her cupboards and tossed a towel over to Qrow, who sat down at a tiny, round table.

"Thanks," he said. He looked down at Ame as the little boy walked over with a small cup of tea. He gave the kid a grateful smile and ruffled his hair.

"Aw, isn't he so sweet~" Lynae squealed.

"How old is he?" Qrow asked. She motioned to her son, who was already trying to count.

Ame looked at his fingers for a moment and held up three fingers on one hand and two on the other. "Five."

"Aww~" Lynae began to squeal again.

Ame was red-faced as he headed over to a flight of stairs. "I-I'm gonna go play in my room..."

"Okay, sweetie. I'll call you down when dinner's ready."

Ame nodded and stumbled up the steps.

Lynae stirred a pot of soup that had been on the stove since Qrow walked in and sat down on a chair. "So, what brings you here?" she asked.

"Right..." Qrow murmured.

Lynae frowned. "Judging from recent events, I'm assuming it has something to do with the Fall of Beacon?"

"It's a lot more than just that, it's about who was responsible."

"I heard rumors about those Atlesian Knights going rogue, but that's all I know."

"It's a lot more than just Atlas tech, Lyn," Qrow said. "Atlas didn't have anything to do with it, actually. Look, I need you to listen to what I'm about to say. It'll be hard to believe, but you have to trust me."

"All right, I'm all ears."

Lynae sat in silence, and Qrow waited nervously for a response.

"So..." she started. "The Grimm have a master named Salem... and she's after these women called Maidens, who are the only ones who can unlock powerful items - Relics - that were left by the gods? And Ozpin was cursed by those Gods and... now has the ability to reincarnate?"

Qrow nodded. "To sum it up, yes."

"This sounds ridiculous..." Lynae face-planted on the table, sighing dramatically.

"I know it is, but-"

"I never said I didn't believe you." She raised her head. Her nose was a faint red. "It's just... _crazy_..." She leaned against the table, using her hands for support. "...Why didn't Oz say any of this before?"

"Trust me, I had the same questions," Qrow said. "But if we were to say anything, it would cause a panic, and I think you can make a pretty accurate guess what would happen next."

Lynae was quiet, not sure what to say.

"We need your help, Lyn. With all of us fighting together, we'd have a better chance of stopping her."

"I-I want to help, but... what about Ame...?"

"Is there anyone here you can leave him with?"

She shook her head slowly and pinched the bridge of her nose. "If Rin were here, I'd go with you..."

"Rin?"

"Rinji Sherwood, my fiancé. He's been gone for over a month... His mission was supposed to end weeks ago." Lynae clenched her fists against the table. "I...I can't leave Ame here, and I don't know if it'll be safe enough to bring him with us."

"If you can't come with me, I understand," Qrow said softly. "I won't pressure you."

Lynae gave a short nod. "Let me... let me think about it, okay?"

"Of course." He stood and turned toward the door, but stopped in his tracks. "Hey, I have a question."

Lynae looked up and waited for him to ask.

"Do you know where your sister is?"

"She came by a few days ago, but I haven't heard from her since... If you plan on finding her, just... hurry." She seemed worried.

"Is something wrong with her?"

"I-I guess you could say that..." Lynae murmured. "She can't fight... I don't know why, but she's been having difficulty moving around on her own. She sometimes can't even walk... She-she said someone was after her too, but she didn't go into detail. She left before I could even ask..."

"I don't want to make a promise I probably won't be able to keep, but I'll try," Qrow said. "There's a good chance she's still in Mistral, so I'll hopefully run into her while I'm here."

"Thank you, that's enough for me."

The rain had finally stopped, but it didn't help the gloom looming around the dark-haired Huntsman.

Qrow stood in the center of town, beginning to look over the large holograms listing Huntsmen and the jobs they took, as well as the status of the mission.

He stared upward, scanning a list of nine names and missions.

_Lucero, Flann  
**Mission Type**  
Village Security  
**Mission Status**  
In progress 8 weeks ago_

* * *

_Durham, Azura  
**Mission Type**  
Search and Destroy  
**Mission Status**  
On hold 6 weeks ago_

* * *

_Cowan, Dove  
**Mission Type**  
Search and Destroy  
**Mission Status**  
Terminated 1 week ago_

* * *

_Choi, Lali  
**Mission Type**  
Bounty  
**Mission Status**  
On hold 7 weeks ago_

* * *

_Lin, Fuchsia  
**Mission Type**  
Search and Rescue  
**Mission Status**  
Terminated 6 days ago_

* * *

_Silver, Stark  
**Mission Type**  
Search and Destroy  
**Mission Status**  
In progress 1 week ago_

* * *

_Hawkins, Jay  
**Mission Type**  
Search and Destroy  
**Mission Status**  
In progress 3 weeks ago_

* * *

_Hawthorne, Lucero  
**Mission Type**  
Bounty  
**Mission Status**  
Terminated 4 days ago_

* * *

_Andrews, Rory  
**Mission Type**  
Search and Destroy  
**Mission Status**  
On hold 9 weeks ago_

Qrow stood in disbelief and looked over to nearby lists, but it proved to be pointless as every mission failed to be completed from what he could tell - _terminated, on hold, terminated, in progress, on hold, on hold, in progress, terminated, on hold..._

He spotted two familiar names and sighed heavily.

_Wan, Shiro  
 **Mission Type**  
Search and Destroy  
 **Mission Status**  
In progress 5 weeks ago_

* * *

_Sherwood, Rinji  
 **Mission Type**  
Search and Rescue  
 **Mission status**  
On hold 7 weeks ago_

The crow sat down on a bench behind him, slumping over as he rested on his knees, staring at the ground. He shook his head in incredulity. "This doesn't make sense..."

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, he pulled out his flask and unscrewed the cap.

"Lilah! Come on down!" Ruby called from outside. "Uncle Qrow will be back soon!"

The brunette ignored her, instead focusing on the sunset and the orange-and-pink sky; it brought back painful memories, but it was beautiful all the same.

Lilah glanced over to Ruby, who landed beside her out of nowhere. "What do you want?" she asked under her breath.

"Your ears are droopy," Ruby noted. "What's wrong?"

"None of your damn business."

"I meant it when I said you could ask for help if you needed it."

"...I said it's none of your business."

"You might feel better if you talk about it."

Lilah turned her head slightly, averting her gaze once she saw her warm smile. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her arms. "...Bad memories."

"Oh..." Ruby murmured. She perked up suddenly. "Well, you've gotten this far."

"I don't get your point."

"Your scars mean you were strong enough to get through what you did. You survived - that says a lot about you. You're stronger than you think."

Lilah remained silent.

"Come on inside," Ruby said, easing the awkwardness by changing the topic. "Spend some time with us. We're whipping up a nice, big dinner for all of the Huntsmen Qrow's gonna bring back. I'm sure there's enough for you to have some!"

"Not hungry."

"But you haven't eaten at all in the past day..." Ruby muttered.

"I don't need to eat as often and you guys do," the brunette said. "I'm not in the mood to eat right now, either."

"Is it because you're upset?"

Lilah replied sarcastically, "Oh, no, that's not it at all."

"Wha-"

"Of course I'm upset! After all that secrecy between Ozpin and I..." she buried her face in her knees, "I don't think I can trust him anymore."

"I know he never meant to hurt you..." Ruby assured her. "He's really sorry, you know."

"If he's sorry, then he should apologize himself. If he does that, then maybe I'll forgive him."

"All righty! I'll get him, then!"

Before Lilah had the chance to say anything, Ruby hopped down and scurried inside.

She sighed and made the last-second decision to follow her.


	13. XIII

Ruby shut the door, leaving Lilah and Oscar standing in a room with each other in awkward silence. Now that the time came, she really didn't want to be there.

"Uhh..." Oscar murmured shyly. "W-why are we here again?"

"Ruby wants Ozpin and I to _sort things out_ ," Lilah responded simply, staring off to the side.

"...About yesterday?"

"It's more than just yesterday. He hid his ability to reincarnate, and I don't doubt he's been keeping other things from me. If that's the case, enlightening me would be much appreciated."

"He trusted you enough to tell you about Salem, didn't he?" Oscar inquired.

"Actually, Qrow told me." Lilah let out a sigh. "Ozpin later went into detail regarding the Relics and Maidens, but that was years ago. They had no choice _but_ to tell me. I would have found out eventually."

Oscar stood speechless, unsure what to say.

"Mind if I speak to Ozpin now?" Lilah asked after a few moments of silence. "I'd like to get this over with."

"Um, right." Oscar's being glowed, and he suddenly seemed much more mature. He didn't say anything as an expression of guilt appeared on his features.

"Hard to believe you're Ozpin," Lilah commented. "That face doesn't suit you."

Ozpin lightly chuckled. "Yes, I guess it doesn't."

"Look, all I want is a genuine apology. Are you sorry?"

"I have been for longer than you think. I won't make any excuses."

Lilah could see in his eyes and hear in his voice that he regretted what he did. His expression was enough as an apology. "Okay, I forgive you."

"Pardon?"

"It's written all over your face." She raised her shoulders slightly with a crooked side-smile. "Do you really think I'm that much of an asshole if you're still expecting me to be pissed?"

"No, I just find it surprising," Ozpin said.

"Find what surprising?"

"You've changed since the Fall of Beacon. If I'm not mistaken, you seem a bit kinder."

It took a moment for Lilah to realize he was joking. "Ha-ha, very funny." She sat on an armrest of a chair. "I hope you know that's not all I want, though. I still have questions, and I'd like some _honest_ answers."

"Ah... yes, of course." He sat down parallel to her and waited for her to ask whatever she wanted to know.

"I only have two, for now. One, it involves Beryl and Koamaru..." Lilah averted her gaze to the floor. "Koamaru had told me I was a weapon. At first, I thought she was trying to provoke me, but I hate to admit it began to make sense once I took the time to think... I just... didn't want to believe it... Is it true? Am I really a weapon?"

Ozpin couldn't bring himself to respond verbally; he nodded.

Lilah felt her body tense as she asked quietly, "...Who was I made for?"

"Salem." It was almost like he was deliberately trying to keep his answers short, but it was only bringing more questions.

Lilah raised her head. "Who was I supposed to kill...? Was it you?"

Ozpin nodded, finally lengthening his response. "Azureus became associated with her some time after he left. His task was to mutate Grimm for her cause; you were one of the unfortunate, as you became his first victim."

"W-wait, wait... left from where?"

Ozpin sighed. "He was a professor at Beacon some years ago but was removed from the school due to his involvement with the death of over three dozen students. He made his escape to Mistral and encountered one of Salem's subordinates shortly after. I hadn't known he joined with her until after Qrow found you."

"W-what about my parents?" Lilah asked. "Did Beryl... really kill them?"

"Your father, unfortunately, didn't survive. But there _is_ a possibility your mother is still out there."

"She's _alive_?! But-but I thought-"

"It's a _possibility_ ," Ozpin repeated. "I haven't heard from her in almost twenty years, but Qrow did mention he saw what was similar to her Semblance when you had gone berserk."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"It was at your mother's request, the day she fled. She wanted to keep you safe. She's remained hidden for a reason; if you ever found out her name or knew her face, you would have no doubt gone searching for her. The many times you've questioned me about her only showed how determined you were."

"But why did she..."

"I think it would be best to ask her yourself, if- _when_ we find her."

"...I have one last question."

"Yes?"

"What... what's her name? A-and her team? Did she even attend Beacon?"

Ozpin gave her a nod. "Calluna Aubergine. She was the leader of Team CADT."

"Do you... know what name she picked out for me?"

"Not in the slightest, I'm afraid. Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you. A parent has the right to tell their child their name."

"...I guess you're right." Before she was able to say another word, Ozpin suddenly glowed and the control was back to Oscar.

"A-ah, sorry!" he said. "What were you going to say?"

"I just wanted to say thank you."

The two jumped slightly, hearing a loud crash from downstairs.

"What was that?" Oscar muttered.

"We won't find out sitting here," Lilah said. "Let's go and see." She stood and walked out of the room with Oscar on her tail. As they made their way closer in the direction of the noise, she could hear a familiar voice whisper quietly, ' _I love you_ '.

Yang?

Lilah and Oscar stood side-by-side at the doorway, watching Ruby and Yang having a warm family reunion. The girls turned toward their white-haired friend with open arms, and she ran over, joining their embrace.


	14. XIV

Lilah propped herself against the wall with a small bowl of food in her hands, quietly listening to the teenagers catching up over a meal. She didn't pay attention to what they were saying, but she could tell they were happy from the booming laughter echoing throughout the house.

Just as she finished her supper, she spotted Jaune walk out, holding a large pot filled with empty bowls and plates. "Oh, hey, Lilah," he greeted. "Were you standing here this whole time?"

Lilah averted her gaze from the tall blonde. "I'll leave the answer to you."

"You're always free to join us, you know."

"Maybe I will next time."

The two heard Nora yell abruptly, " _ **Yes**_ , especially at the dance! _**Thank you, Yang!**_ " all followed by Ruby and Weiss' laughter as the redhead played the song that blasted through the speakers at the school dance, an event that felt like forever ago.

"How can six kids possibly make so much noise eating dinner?!" Qrow strolled over, Oscar in tow.

Nora quickly paused the song, and the farmhand let out a soft chuckle.

Ozpin slowly glanced back and forth between the ex-students, having just explained their situation to Weiss and Yang. Lilah sat on the floor in front of a wooden end table, just by Qrow's feet.

The tension was high, almost unbearable. Lilah felt just about ready to leave due to the awkward silence; she was a bit relieved when Weiss finally said something.

"So... the Maidens. Magic. _Salem_... It's all true?" she asked.

"Uh-huh," Qrow muttered.

"Miss Xiao Long." Ozpin brought his attention to the blonde. "Is this more or less what you're mother told you?"

Weiss looked over to Yang, who remained silent with her arms crossed over her chest. "For the most part," the Schnee replied.

"You forgot some things," Yang said. "You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Qrow and my mother, and the fact that you have a Grimm under your wing."

Lilah held her breath. She had forgotten Weiss and Yang were the only people here who didn't know about her secret. How was Raven even able to find out?

"We already know about the Grimm," Jaune said. "What we don't know... is what Ozpin did..." The teens glanced over to the headmaster, waiting for an explanation.

"Oh, great..." Qrow mumbled under his breath, smiling nervously.

"That's... not a secret I thought she would give up so easily," Ozpin said. He turned toward Yang. "Your mother must trust you a great deal." He offered a smile but was given a scowl in return. He sighed. "My ability to reincarnate, though a curse, isn't without a few key benefits. Much like the Maidens, I too possess a certain... ' _magical_ ' power." He stood and slowly made his way toward Qrow. "Using this power, I was able to gift the Branwen twins to ' _see_ ' more, to move freely and be unburdened by their natural bodies. I... well... I gave them the ability to turn into birds." Quietly, he laughed at himself, almost like an attempt to lighten the mood. "Rather ridiculous sounding out loud, isn't it?"

"Uncle?" Ruby stared at the crow, unsure as to what she was expecting him to say.

"You turned them... into birds," Ren repeated in disbelief. 

"All right, now you're just messing with us," Nora said.

Jaune glowered and crossed his arms. "What else is new?" he murmured.

"He's telling the truth," Weiss said. "We saw it. Yang's mom... _changed_ , right in front of us."

"Why would you do something like that?" Yang inquired, beginning to raise her voice. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Yang, that's enough," Qrow said. "We made a choice. We wanted this."

She sat back and glared at Ozpin. "And about the Grimm," she said. "Who is it?"

Before Ozpin could answer, Lilah stood up. "What did your mother tell you about me, exactly?"

"Wait... Lilah?" Yang said breathlessly. "You're the Grimm? That's a joke, right?"

"No, it's not." The brunette pulled off her headband and uncurled her tail from under her shirt. She honestly hated being so open about her Grimm side, but trying to hide it would be futile as they would find out over time. At this point, she couldn't say she really cared anymore.

Weiss was completely dumbfounded; she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

Yang shot up from her seat. "You've been hiding that from us this whole time?!"

"I didn't have a choice," Lilah said. "If others found out I was part Grimm, they might have killed me."

"Tell me the truth, and be honest. Are you some sort of spy sent here by Salem?"

"What? No!"

"Then why are you here?!"

"Yang, enough!" Qrow snapped. "She has _nothing_ to do with Salem."

"Then why did Mom tell me Ozpin was protecting her weapon?!"

The room fell silent; Ruby looked at Lilah. "What... what is she talking about?"

"I... I, uh..." The brunette turned pale.

"I can assure you Lilah is not affiliated with Salem anymore," Ozpin said.

"What do you mean 'anymore'?" Yang snapped. "So she _was_ -"

"She is one of the victims of an experiment that resulted in multiple creations of Grimm hybrids." Ozpin spoke calmly, but the teens were anything _but_ calm. "She's one of the few - if not, the only one - capable of acting on their own, and it seems to me that Salem finds this quality extremely valuable."

"Is that the reason why Azureus kidnapped her?" Nora asked.

"I find it most likely."

"If that's the case, why is she still here?" Yang questioned. "She's going to lead Salem right toward us."

"I have a promise to keep," Qrow said after a few moments.

"...A promise?" Lilah repeated.

"It was at your mother's request. Well, not directly from her; her sister was the one who relayed everything to me."

"And _you're_ going to relay everything to _me_ when this conversation is over."

Ozpin brought his attention from them to Yang. "It's unlikely Salem would send her forces to retrieve a single girl, considering where we are now," he said. "I think it's safe to assume we're all right for the time being."

"I don't like _any_ of this," Yang grumbled.

"We never asked if you approved," Lilah uttered. "You're just going to have to suck it up and deal with it, because I'm going to be here for a while."

Her eyes widened slightly and her ears began to twitch. Her brows furrowed in concern; the others simply looked at her with cocked heads.

"What's the matter?" Qrow asked.

"I hear something... outside." Her eyes narrowed and she swiftly bolted out the door and into the freezing air before anyone had a chance to realize what she said.

The air reeked of blood; she could recognize that sweet, metallic scent anywhere, but that begs the question: Who's the source of the bleeding? And why are they stumbling around outside?

She quickly caught sight of a cloaked figure with a bundle in their arms. They were covered almost entirely, but it was safe to assume this person was injured, noting the bloodstains on their clothing.

Quiet sobbing was heard from the child in the person's arms.

"I..." Lilah opened her mouth to speak, but she turned just as she heard the door open from behind her, and Qrow walked beside her while the others remained inside. The nervous look on the farmhand's face suggested the control went back to Oscar.

"Excuse me?" the Huntsman uttered, slowly approaching the figure.

They quickly looked up and raised their hood slightly, staring at him with sapphire eyes. "Qrow...?"

"Lyn?" He was in utter disbelief as she ran over to him, tears streaming down her face.

"M-my village definitely isn't safe...!"

Qrow looked down at Ame, who continued to cry. His head was wrapped sloppily with blood-soaked bandages. With a quick gesture, he led her inside. Lilah followed.

Lynae sat quietly at her son's side as he slept in one of the guest beds. Ame had bruises all over, but the only serious injury he suffered was a gash over his left temple. It wasn't life-threatening, according to Qrow, and it didn't require stitches, so he would be fine as long as the dressing is changed regularly and it's kept clean.

The door creaked open and Lilah walked through, her eyes glued to the tray in her hands. On it was a cup of cocoa, which Lilah held out to the silver-haired woman. "To warm you up," she said, keeping her voice low. It was as if something was on her mind.

"Thank you." Lynae took a sip and gently set the cup on her lap. Lilah put the tray on the nightstand and sat down on the bed opposite from her.

"So," Lilah said finally, "you're my mom's sister. And Ame is your son."

"Yes." She nodded.

The brunette brought her knee up to her chest and rested her chin on it. "I... had a word with Qrow. He told me... something was wrong with my mom."

"Unfortunately, yes, it's true," Lynae said with a deep sigh. "She can't fight like she used to, which is why we have to find her."

"...Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What...what was she like?"

Lynae stared into her cup of cocoa with a small, sad smile slowly finding its way onto her features. "She's a strong, brave woman," she said. "She always fights to protect and never raises her weapon out of spite. She's kind, and loyal, and _very_ selfless. You... look just like her."

"I do?"

"You two have the same face. Even the same look in your eyes."

"I... what do you mean?"

"You have good intentions."

"Hmph." Lilah leaned back on the bed, supporting herself with her arms, as she scowled and rolled her eyes. "What makes you so sure?"

"Let's just call it intuition." Lynae turned to her and flashed a toothy grin.

Lilah glanced to the side and turned away, attempting to hide her pink cheeks.

Lilah exited the room, leaving Lynae and her son so they could get some sleep. She passed by a doorway just as it opened, revealing Yang on the other side. The blonde glared.

Lilah gave a chagrined groan but continued walking.

"You never answered my question," Yang said.

The brunette halted and sighed in exaggeration. "Oh, my _God_ , I don't have time for this!" She turned around slightly to see her. "Ozpin already explained everything! Why can't you just let it go?!"

"If we're being honest here, I don't trust you. You _are_ Salem's weapon, after all."

Lilah's claws bared as she growled. "You're treading on thin ice here, Blondie. I suggest you choose your next words carefully."

"Are you threatening me?"

In a flash, Lilah had her pinned to the ground. She spoke quietly, "What do you think?"

"I see you're resorting to violence instead of answering a little question."

"I'm not saying shit to you."

"U-um..." Oscar stood at his doorway, frozen in place from the tension between the two girls. "Is there... something wrong here?"

Lilah glanced at him and back to Yang. "It's nothing, kid." She stood up and headed toward him.

"My name is Oscar-"

"I know." She hoisted him over her shoulder and walked into his room, shutting the door.

His voice when an octave higher as his face turned red in embarrassment. "Hey! Put me down!"

Lilah flipped the boy onto his bed and made her way to the window; she sat down on the sill and faced outside. "Didn't mean to wake you," she said. "Now go back to sleep. You'll need it."

"Um..." Oscar sat up and turned in her direction. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm keeping watch."

"You know, that isn't necessary."

"Anything can happen in this crazy world." Her voice was suddenly calmer, quieter.

Oscar decided it was best not to push her; he lied down and closed his eyes.


	15. XV

Lilah sat quietly out in the yard, taking in the view of the mountains; she kept her gaze downward, avoiding the beautiful sunrise. No matter how hard she tried, it still reminded her of when she was trapped in Beryl's laboratory.

Her ears twitched and her nose wrinkled a bit - the heavy footsteps and sweaty odor were recognizable. "Hey, Jaune."

"Wow, a greeting," the blonde said. "That's new."

"I don't know if you can tell, but I'm not in the mood," Lilah grumbled.

"Heheh, yeah, sorry."

She heard him walk up next to her and sit down; she caught a juicy, meaty scent from where he was and turned around. He was holding a sandwich out to her. "Um...?"

"You haven't eaten for the past few days," Jaune said.

"I'm fine, thanks. I've said many times I don't need to eat as often."

"That's not what Qrow told me."

Lilah sighed heavily and turned to face him, using her knee as support to keep her head up. "Okay, what did this big-mouthed bird man tell you?"

"You need to eat just as much as the rest of us do. Ever since you left Vale, you've been denying just that."

"...That doesn't mean anything." She looked away and buried her nose and mouth into her arms. Her ears drooped against her head, and her tail curled around her ankles.

"You're still human, you know," Jaune said. "I know you're upset, but you can't just starve yourself, especially how you are now."

She hid her face completely. With a muffled voice, she admitted, "I guess being in Mistral is messing me up..."

"Is it about your past?"

"...Yeah."

Jaune went silent, unsure what to say. It was awkward for a few long seconds before he finally spoke up. "We're all worried about you," he said. "Ruby is most of all. She agonizes about it every night, so she probably gets at much sleep as you do now. Even Qrow gets like that sometimes." He held out the sandwich. "Please, eat something. You're... not in a healthy state right now, and I'm sure you'll feel a little better once you start eating and sleeping properly. It would put everyone at ease, too."

Lilah thought for a few moments. "...Fine," she mumbled, along with a quick, "Thank you," before taking it. She bit off one of the corners, and she hummed quietly, enjoying the perfect balance of turkey, ham, and mayonnaise. "Just how I like it, too. How'd you know?"

"Qrow."

"I should've known."

A small smile found its way on the boy's face, seeing the little grin on her's. She must really like that sandwich.

She took a glance at him and swallowed. "Why are you staring at me?" she inquired.

"It's nothing." Jaune lied back on the ground with his hands behind his head. As if on cue, his mind went to their time at a campfire - now that he thought about it, it felt like a lifetime ago. "Time really flies by, doesn't it?" he said softly.

"I guess it does." Lilah continued to nibble on her little meal.

"I've been wondering for a while..." Jaune murmured. "I'm sure the others are wondering too... um... nevermind."

"Hey, don't just say 'nevermind' when you bring something up like that."

He shrugged. "I just don't wanna seem nosy."

"Everyone's nosy at some point," Lilah said. "Just ask."

"Well..." Jaune hesitated. "It's about your Aura."

"Oh, my God, this again?" she groaned, rolling her eyes.

"I had a feeling you'd react like that."

"Whatever. What about my Aura?"

"I'm taking a wild guess here and saying you don't have one."

"Great, looks like you figured it out - I don't have an Aura. Don't got a Semblance, either." She looked at the boy's shocked expression. "I know, surprising," she added sarcastically.

The blonde sat up. "Is that because of... you know."

"Me being part Grimm?" Lilah mumbled. "Yeah, it is. It's one of the reasons why I never joined a team at Beacon. If you're not as dumb as you look, you should understand."

"I do, but... you don't have to be so mean about it."

"You're the one who brought up a touchy subject, so you kinda deserved it."

"Yeah... maybe I did..." Jaune kept his eyes on her as she stood. "Where are you going?"

"Gonna check on Ame," she replied, and she turned her head to face him. "You gonna stay here?"

The blonde nodded. "I'm going to try and relax a little." He flopped on his back with his arms spread out at his sides. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "Too much stress."

"I'll make some peppermint tea, then," Lilah offered. "Ozzy told me it was good for relieving stress and anxiety. Might help you actually get some sleep, too."

"Do you spy on people at night or something?"

"Your eyes."

"Huh?"

"You're drained; it's not hard to tell," the brunette said, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "Go take a nap once you finish your tea, or I'll knock you out myself."

"I, uh..." Jaune started, but he wasn't able to finish as Lilah walked inside. "Thanks..." he mumbled.

Lilah slowly opened the door to one of the guest bedrooms. She sighed quietly, seeing Ame curled up on the bed with his knees to his chest. His body trembled as he cried.

He was dressed in a white tank top and dark blue shorts, exposing his bandaged arms and legs. His head was still wrapped up. Small bloodstains dotted the bandages - it was about time for them to be changed.

Without a word, she closed the door behind her and sat on the bed. The little boy jolted in surprise and peeked at her. "Lai...?" he said, his voice muffled in his pillow.

"Feeling any better?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"Does it still hurt?"

He nodded and wiped his red, puffy eyes.

"C'mere." Lilah reached out to pick him up, and he let her without question. He clung to her shoulders as she held him up with a hand on his back and headed downstairs. She sat him on the chair and said, "I'll be back in a minute."

Lilah headed into the bathroom and grabbed a roll of bandages, as well as an ointment. She returned to the main area and kneeled down in front of the chair. Setting the items aside, she began to carefully remove the bloody bandages covering her cousin's body.

He had bruises and scratches along his arms and legs - they showed some signs of healing, but even so, he wouldn't be fully healed for quite a while.

Once she applied the ointment and redressed his wounds, she tossed out the old bandages and picked up Ame again. "I'm assuming you've already eaten?" she asked, and he nodded. "Good. You should get some more rest, all right?" He nodded once more as Lilah made her way back upstairs and into the guest bedroom. She lied the boy down, and he closed his eyes.

The ointment must be working; he hasn't looked as peaceful since he got here.

Lilah quietly exited the room and shut the door.

"You seem to do well with kids."

The brunette found herself suppressing a shriek as she jolted, whirling around to see Oscar. "You sneaky little...! You scared the hell outta me!"

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to..." he apologized, bowing his head slightly. "I figured you heard me."

"I should have..." Lilah mumbled. "Just got a lot on my mind." She put her hands in her pockets and headed downstairs. Her ear twitched as Oscar followed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"I would rather not," she said, walking into the kitchen. "I don't feel like talking. Try asking Ozzy - he's known me long enough to at least have an idea of what's on my mind. Honestly, I want to see if he's gotten rusty when it comes to me-"

"Your mother," Oscar said. "It's... your mother, right?"

"...I guess not," Lilah sighed, rummaging through the cabinet. "Yeah, that's right, but that doesn't mean I'm going to say anything." She pulled out a small pack of peppermint leaves and a container of pure honey.

"Do you... trust me?"

"What brought that up?"

"I mean... you've never actually made an attempt to talk to me. You're kinda... distant."

"I'm distant toward everyone," Lilah retorted, grabbing two mugs from another cupboard. She glanced at Oscar's expression - he almost seemed disappointed. "Well, I don't see a reason not to trust you." She took a rather old-fashioned bronze-colored kettle from a cabinet under the sink and filled it with water. "To be frank, I never really wanted friends." She set it on the stove, turned it on high, and pulled herself up on the counter to sit. She leaned her head against the cabinet door. "Because of how I was ' _raised_ ' - and I use that word extremely loosely - I'm an isolated person. Qrow and Ozpin sorta helped with that, but I never wanted to meet new people, mostly because I was scared about what they would do to me if they found out I was a Grimm.

Would they sympathize with me? Would they be scared? Would they kill me? I had no way of knowing, so I simply avoided people." She looked at Oscar from the corner of her eye and had a brief fit of laughter. "Aw, don't feel bad," she said. "I'm used to it."

"You don't want this yourself, do you?"

"Of course not!" Lilah hopped to the ground. "Honestly... it's very lonely. But now I'm being hunted, so if lonely is what I have to be to keep others from getting hurt - or worse - so be it." She paused for a moment as she hesitated. "I know what loss can do to people. It hurts more than any physical pain. I should know, because I've experienced that feeling one too many times. It hurts to think about it, but Oz isn't actually dead, so I can't say it bothers me too much anymore, though I'd rather not lose anyone again."

Oscar waited silently for her to add on, as he had no idea how to respond. She jumped, hearing the kettle emit a screech. Quickly, she turned off the stove and set it off to the side for it to cool a bit. She turned to the pack of peppermint leaves and pulled out a few, beginning to crush them slightly with her fingers.

"I didn't realize I was rambling. My bad," she finally said, dropping the leaves into the mug. "I'm not very optimistic, as you can see." She seemed a bit frantic as she tried to think of a way to change the subject. "Uhm..." she held up some leaves, "tea?"

"...Sure." It was awkward, mostly for Oscar. He almost felt bad; he couldn't come up with any comforting words no matter how hard he tried, but he also doubted she wanted him to sympathize.

He watched without another word as she grabbed a third mug and crushed leaves into it. She took the kettle and poured the hot water into it, sprinkling some honey in afterward before stirring everything together.

"Here." Lilah handed Oscar one of the cups. He took it, and she grabbed the other two and headed outside. The boy followed.

Jaune glanced over at the two and greeted them with a, "Yo," and a brief wave. Lilah handed the blonde his tea and took a mouthful of her own. "Wow!" he commented. "This is really good!"

' _Go on, try it_ ," Ozpin's voice rang in the farmhand's head. Oscar sipped the aromatic beverage and smiled.

"You're right!" Oscar agreed with a nod. "Tastes kinda like my aunt's-"

A small object suddenly whizzed through the air and struck the wall behind them; they froze for a moment.

The brunet slowly brought his hand to his cheek; he looked at his fingers and spotted blood. "What..."

Lilah's ears and tail - and even her hair slightly - fluffed out like a cat on edge as she emitted a growl. She scanned the area as Jaune stood and headed to the lodge entrance. He pulled an arrow with a bodkin point out of the doorframe; attached to it was a bloodstained note.

"Let me see that!" Lilah bellowed. She placed her cup on the window sill and tore the paper from the arrow, quickly reading through the smudged handwriting.

_I hope you still remember me!!! What am I saying? Of_ _course_ _you do!_

_I never got to have my fun with you, so let's settle things, shall we? Don't fret, it will be just_ _lil_ _' old me~_

_I've been observing you since you went batshit crazy some days ago, and during that time, I couldn't help but notice your attachment to that new kid._

_Meet me back you-know-where if you know what's good for you - or, well, **him**. Don't bring anyone with you. I'd hate to have any interferences._

_-K._

"That bitch...!" Lilah growled, her face red with anger.

"What does it say?" Oscar inquired, right before she crumpled it in her hands and stormed inside. Her tail whipped back and forth aggressively. "Wait! Where-"

"Don't follow me," the brunette uttered. She grabbed Lynae's cloak from the coat rack, swung it over her shoulders, and made her way back outside. The boys watched uncertainly as she walked past them.

"Where are you going?" Jaune asked.

"It's none of your concern."

The blonde grabbed her shoulder and forced her to turn around; surprisingly, she made no attempt to push him away. "You're dead wrong if you think we're just going to let you run off on your own!"

"W-what did the letter say?" Oscar repeated.

"It's nothing, all ri-" Her eyes widened as Jaune snatched the note from her hand. "You imbecile! How dare-" He put his hand on her face as she tried to jump up and grab it; he held it over his head and glanced at it for a few seconds. 

"You're such an idiot..." he uttered. "You planned on going after her on your own?

"Yeah, so what?!"

"You do realize this could be an ambush, right?!"

"Don't you think I know that already?!"

"Then why are you going?! Do you want them to catch you again?!"

"Of course not, but if it prevents anyone else from dying, then I couldn't care less what happens to me!"

The voice of a familiar redhead suddenly rang through her head. "Hey, what's going on out here?" Ruby questioned, her brows furrowed in concern. "What's with all the yelling?"

"Ruby!" Oscar said.

"She wants to go after Koamaru," Jaune grumbled.

"What?!"

"I'm going, and you can't stop me!" In a second, Lilah's form morphed into that of a Beowolf and she leaped over the cliff, quickly being hidden by the sea of trees.


	16. XVI

"She _what_?!" Qrow and Lynae yelled in unison as the teenagers before them wore unease expressions.

"I tried to stop her, but she didn't listen..." Jaune murmured. He held out the note toward him. "She read this and immediately insisted she leave."

Qrow grabbed chunks of his own hair and swung his head back. "That _stubborn_ little...!"

Lynae took the paper and skimmed through it. She exhaled and spoke softly, "I don't blame her for acting out on her own." She held it out for Qrow to read, and he emitted a gruff sigh.

"Koamaru threatened someone's life, so I can't say it's surprising she'd try to fight," he said. "What pisses me off is that she doesn't think about at least contacting me first or even explaining herself."

"Do you know where she might be going?" Ruby questioned, her brows furrowed.

"Yeah, I have a pretty good idea, but Koamaru is extremely dangerous, alone or not. I would rather have you kids stay here."

"There's a possibility she brought others with her," Nora said. "We should all go and-"

"If we all go, then we'll be easy targets, no matter how powerful we are," Lynae stated firmly. "I think it's safe to say two of her targets are Lilah and Oscar, but there's no guaranteeing she won't be after the rest of us."

"What do you reckon we do?" Ren inquired.

"If we're going to go after her, we should split up instead." The silver-haired woman scanned through everyone. "Ruby and Jaune could go with Qrow to find Lilah, and Ren, Nora, and Oscar could stay here with me and keep guard. Koamaru already knows where we are, so we can't risk leaving the school unguarded considering there aren't any Huntsmen in the area aside from Lionheart. I personally doubt anyone would show up here at the moment, but it wouldn't hurt to be safe."

The crow gave her a short nod and brought his attention to the students. "Anyone objections?"

"Not complaining here," Ruby said. Her friends quickly agreed.

"All right. Everyone, grab your weapons. We leave in one minute."

Koamaru, propped up in a tree, stared down at the brunette glaring menacingly below her. "I didn't expect you to get here so soon!" she exclaimed with a smile. "I would like to have a little chat with you first, but you aren't in the mood for talking, are you?"

"If I get to kill you right after," Lilah said, crossing her arms. Her tail whipped around fiercely from under the cloak she wore.

"Haha, not happening~"

"Then you're wasting my time."

"Maybe, maybe not." Koamaru gave her a mischievous smile. "Either way, I would like to talk about that boy. The cute one with the freckles."

"...Oscar?"

"Ooh, so that's his name! Nice to know~" The woman hopped down from the tree and landed in front of her. "I've been told by Beryl that Ozpin has the ability to reincarnate, so, from what I've observed... little Oscar is now your precious Oz~"

Lilah said nothing.

"You didn't deny it, so I'm taking your silence as a yes!" Koamaru hummed softly to herself; her smile widened. As a means to provoke the girl, but also out of genuine curiosity, she murmured, "I wonder how long he'll last if I torture him?"

In an instant, Lilah held her by the throat and pinned her to a tree. She bared her fangs as her eyes vaguely began to flare. " _Touch him and you're **dead**!_" she bawled.

"It's adorable how attached to him you are~" the woman commented. "You're like his little pet! A guard dog!"

" ** _Shut up!_** " She threw her aside with such force that Koamaru knocked over a couple of trees and created a pit in the ground.

Koamaru stumbled to her feet and brought her hand to her split lip. She spit out some blood. "You're so sensitive when it comes to Ozpin. It's almost scary!"

" **I told you to _shut up!_** "

"Oh, did I touch a nerve?~" the noirette taunted with a giggle.

"Tch." Lilah threw off her cloak and transformed into a Grimm in a matter of seconds. She stood on all fours, glowering and snarling at her.

"Picking a fight now, are we?" Koamaru gave her a devilish smirk and slowly pulled out her dagger. "Good; I've been itching for a fight!~"

The two circled each other at a steady pace; the woman vanished from sight, and Lilah slightly raised one of her claws.

She quickly whirled around as she caught the sound of a twig snapping, just in time to grab Koamaru's wrist. The woman's cold, blue eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement as the blade extended so rapidly that Lilah barely had time to react. She whipped her aside once she felt a dull yet sharp pain in her ear.

Koamaru skidded to a halt and stood with a wide smile on her face, lightly stroking the edge of her katana. Through the center of the blade seemed to be a thin tube with apparently clear liquid circulating inside that drew cause for concern. "Beryl gave me permission to kill you," she said. "Salem has no need for you anymore from what I hear; we got someone else to help with our research!"

Lilah swiped at her, but she parried and yanked out her double-sided star-headed chain. She whipped it forward and it entangled itself around the sharp bones sticking out of Lilah's back.

"He's a very obedient boy~" Koamaru continued. "You may have heard about him once or twice from Qrow Branwen, but he never told you himself, did he?"

Lilah grasped the chain and ripped it from the woman's hands, leaving it to dangle from her back as she was unable to get it undone. Her claws tore through the air as she attempted to strike her, but Koamaru vanished once more - this time leaving the other in silence.

Lilah's body tensed as she scanned her surroundings, doing her best to focus more on hearing than on sight, but she became too agitated after that provocation.

Koamaru popped back up directly in front of her, swinging her katana just as she did. Lilah jumped back on her hind legs and swatted at her with a loud roar, but the woman deflected it and her sword was whipped upward, barely grazing the Grimm's chin.

The two sent a series of attacks swinging back and forth toward each other rapidly; it was almost infuriating how neither of them hardly took any damage.

Koamaru successfully landed a kick to Lilah's jaw, causing the Grimm to stumble back a couple feet. Instantaneously, she pierced through her arm - Lilah immediately threw her off and fell to one knee, gripping her arm tightly.

"It works! Yay!" the woman cheered, watching with a toothy grin as Lilah's form morphed back into that of a human. She glanced at her sword and frowned slightly, noticing only about a quarter of the mysterious concoction was gone. "Not all of it, huh?" She smiled. "Oh, well!"

A bullet suddenly whizzed past her face. With a light sigh and somewhat disgruntled smirk, she turned around to see a familiar black-haired Huntsman accompanied by two teenagers. Ruby held Crescent Rose in gun mode.

"How annoying," she uttered. "I didn't think you would already be up for a fight after that wound you received from Beryl."

"Don't underestimate me, kid," Qrow retorted, sword now in hand. He glanced over to Lilah; she gave him a rather livid chuff as if to say, _Don't even start_. She reached for her cloak and draped it over her shoulders.

Koamaru brought her attention to Ruby and Jaune. "Honestly, you two are adorable~" she commented. "Especially Ruby! I might just go through the trouble of taking your cute little head as a trophy..."

Lilah jumped to her feet. " _Don't you even **dare**!_" she hissed.

"You really are like a dog," the noirette giggled. She brought her hand to her mouth and, using her thumb and index finger, whistled as loud as she could. In a matter of seconds, dozens of Grimm of many kinds flooded through the trees behind her and clustered around her. A majority of them were larger than the average Grimm, while others seemed to be mutated and fused with one another.

The four allies stared in shock, readying their weapons for a fight.

"W-what?" Jaune murmured. "How are there more? I thought we got all of them back at the lab?!"

Koamaru burst into a fit of laughter, holding her head. "You seriously thought we kept all of our specimens stuck in a single area?" She wiped away a tear. "Being students of Ozpin, I figured you would be smarter than that." She cackled quietly, continuing to speak once she recovered. "Well, I've got places to be. Au revoir!" She quickly vanished and the Grimm came charging.

Crescent Rose transformed into a scythe and Ruby dashed through the crowd, slicing several of them in half. "Lilah!" she called. She stopped next to her as she whacked a few aside. "Think you can follow her?"

"I can try," she said. "I trust you guys should be fine here on your own?"

"Don't worry about us!" Jaune yelled through the howling of the Grimm. "Just go!"

Lilah chuckled quietly and began to run, but Qrow grabbed her shoulder. She sighed quietly and spoke, neither of them making eye contact with each other. "Yeah?"

"Watch your back," he advised. "Don't do anything reckless."

"Ha, same goes for you, old man."

"We'll catch up once we're finished here." He patted her back. "Now hurry."

"I'll keep you on your word."

"Where did all these Grimm come from?!" Oscar yelled, using his cane to knock a few back down the mountain where they came from. It was all he could really do, as his weapon wasn't sharp enough to pierce their unusually tough skin.

"This isn't right!" Ren said, firing away with his StormFlower. "There's no reason for them to be here!"

Nora and Lynae were farther down the mountainside. The redhead used the grenades from her hammer to keep herself airborne as she swung at the Grimm, and Lynae used her Semblance with the help of Water and Air Dust.

She had the ability to freeze whatever she wanted, all the way down to the water particles in the air, to create anything. In this case, she used it as a temporary platform so she could swiftly cut down the Grimm with her weapon; Dust simply helped make the ice more durable than they would normally be.

Her weapon, Liberation, was a javelin with a slightly longer, curve blade than a regular Javelin. It can split down the middle, and each half can transform into either a sword or pistol.

"Do you think they could be after something?" Oscar inquired. "They're completely ignoring the towns..."

Shivers ran down his spine as he felt someone breathing on his neck.

"They're after _you_."

The boy nearly shrieked as he tried to turn around, but he was immediately pushed into a wall. "What-" He paused, staring into the blue eyes of an unfamiliar woman who held him still with a single hand. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but something about her made him freeze. Maybe it was her sadistic smile? Or her somehow intimidating gaze? Whatever it was, he didn't like it.

"Oscar!" Ren yelled. He quickly changed his aim, though he was swiftly disarmed by her sword; he threw a few punches in haste, but Koamaru was too fast for him. After smoothly dodging his attacks, she struck his temple with the butt of her katana and kicked his chest.

Oscar swung his cane, but it was almost immediately deflected. She whipped her sword downward and he raised his cane to block.

" _Do not engage her head on_ ," Ozpin's voice echoed through the youngin's head. " _There's no way you'll be able to keep up with her_."

"Does it look like I have any other choice?!"

Koamaru giggled. "Talking to yourself in the middle of a _fight_?" She was quickly able to break his defense with a sudden boost of force and, with another swing of her sword, slashed his forearm. "Or is that Ozpin all up in your head?"

"How did...?"

Koamaru raised her sword.

" _Let me fight!_ "

"No!" He parried her attack but failed to counter it. "I can do this!" He readied himself to strike, but Koamaru grasped it before it hit her and knocked him over with a roundhouse kick, disarming him.

"I love your confidence!~" she commented. She stabbed downward and Oscar briskly rolled out of the way. She suddenly jerked to the side as there was rapid gunfire. 

Just as Koamaru turned around, Ren charged and clashed blades with her. She forced him back and struck his jaw with an upward kick. As she brought her foot down over his head, he grabbed her ankle; she used her free leg to jump in the air, using Ren to support her weight while attempting a butterfly kick. With a powerful blow to the head, he fell over, losing his grip on his guns. Before he could hit the ground, Koamaru kneed him, sending him flying over the side of the cliff.

"Ren!" the three yelled in unison. Lynae swiftly fired Water and Air Dust bullets below him; they burst and expanded, creating a firm platform underneath him.

" _Oscar, please._ "

Oscar decided to ignore him and clenched teeth as he retrieved the cane on the ground; he attempted to whack Koamaru on the head while her back was turned, but her body disappeared moments later. With his cane still in the air, he stood in shock. "What...?"

" _Oscar, behind you!_ "

His eyes widened as he turned around. Koamaru outstretched her hand and held him by the collar of his shirt, pinning him to the wall. He jabbed the cane into her stomach, but she was quickly able to rip it out of his hands.

"Impressive~" she squealed. "You managed to last five minutes against me!"

Oscar's breath hitched as he felt the tip of her sword poke at his navel; his mind almost went completely blank.

"Let's see how long you can bleed out!"

The boy grabbed the blade and pushed it away before she could thrust forward and sent a punch to her jaw. She stumbled back a couple feet and wiped blood off of her lip, spitting to the side. She focused on Oscar, who held his fists up with a rather confident - yet shaken - expression.

"Ooh, you actually managed to hit me!" she giggled. "What a clever boy~"

She swung her sword at his head, but he ducked just in time. Recalling how similar this was to training, he jumped, slamming his head into her mouth. She staggered a bit, though she was swiftly able to recover and perform an axe kick. With a mighty blow, she rammed his face into the ground, keeping her foot positioned on his head.

"Dammit..." Oscar was barely audible as his world was spinning from the hit, but it didn't take long to realize the predicament he was in; blood slowly pooled from his nose and a big scrape to the back and front of his head. He started to become lightheaded.

"Why not let Ozpin take over?" Koamaru inquired. "Or is he chickening out over what happened at Beacon?"

"...Shut the hell up-" He grimaced as the woman twisted her heel.

"I'm feeling a little... _generous_ ," she said. "I could make it a quick death and penetrate your heart-" she poked at his back, about where his heart was, "-or I could cut your aorta and leave you to bleed out and die in about a minute-" she jabbed at his spine, "- _or_..." she brought the tip of the blade to his rib cage, "-I could pierce your lung. You'd die in... hmm, maybe thirty minutes? So~" She hoisted her sword over her shoulder. "Which will it be? I would personally choose to puncture your lung - as cruel as it sounds, I like seeing my opponents struggle, and I bet your death would be super satisfying!"

In the bat of an eye, Koamaru nearly flew off the edge of the cliff. Using her sword to break her fall, she glanced up, smirking when she spotted Lilah standing beside the dazed teen.

The brunette kneeled down and tugged on the boy's sleeve, all while keeping her eyes glued to the enemy. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"I-... I'm in one piece, at least..." Oscar muttered. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet. "Thanks-" His breath caught in his throat as he flinched, holding his head tightly. He began to see double vision; that, accompanied by hazy eyesight and the feeling that his surroundings were spiraling out of control made for a bad combination. "The hell...?"

Lilah grit her teeth as she noticed the slash on his arm. She whipped her head in Koamaru's direction. "You drugged him!" There wasn't much liquid encased inside the sword as there was before; it was the only other thing she could think of that could mess with Oscar like that besides a single kick to the head.

The noirette stood and shrugged with a cheeky smile. "I guess I did." She twirled her sword in her hands as Lilah guided Oscar over to the wall and helped him sit down. "I assume you're going to fight me now?"

"After all the shit you pulled, I'll _kill_ you." Lilah opened her palm - her injured arm was almost useless at that point - and exposed her claws.

"How enthusiastic~"

The two darted toward each other, throwing attack after bloody attack.

Oscar managed to regain some focus and caught a glimpse of one of Ren's guns lying on the ground a few feet away from him. He reached for it, falling to his side in the process, but he was able to get a firm grip on it. He forced himself up and raised it with both arms. With his double vision screwing up his perception and their speed, it was almost impossible to get a clear shot.

But he fired anyway; Koamaru disappeared just as the ringing of gunfire caught her ear.

"What the-" Lilah's words caught in her throat as the woman reappeared in front of Oscar. "Dammit!"

Words couldn't describe the look of annoyance in Koamaru's eyes as she thrust her sword.

The boy shut his eyes tight and covered his face with his arms out of reflex, but the only thing he heard was likely the most horrific sound he's heard since he arrived in Mistral - a sound that reminded him of tearing up a turkey for dinner. The overwhelming sweet, metallic scent of blood made his stomach churn.

He sat there speechless from shock as he stared at Lilah's back facing him. A sword penetrated her through her lower abdomen; she made an ugly grimace as Koamaru ripped it out of her. Lilah fell to her knees, trembling in pain.

The booming scream of a Grimm filled the air. Koamaru sighed, glancing at Oscar. "What a pain..." Her blade retracted into the form of a mere dagger and she sheathed it on her belt. "Qrow and your little friends are nearly here; I'd be horribly outnumbered, and I don't plan on dying today. You'll definitely see me later!~" She seemed annoyed, but she was smiling all the same; she vanished once more and left them in silence.

He finally snapped out of it and immediately brought his attention to the injured brunette. "L-Lilah!" His heart wouldn't stop racing, and the tears wouldn't stop flowing.

"Don't cry... you big... baby..." she wheezed, letting out a wet, bloody cough. She tried to straighten her posture and stand, but she held her breath and doubled over as pain shot through her body. She fell over on her side, her voice and body shaking uncontrollably.

"You-" Oscar winced as he suddenly felt faint, "-you shouldn't be trying to move yet...!"

He couldn't help but become concerned when she didn't make any sort of reply.

"Lilah...?"

She remained silent.

"Lilah! Li-" he paused just as he moved her bangs out of her face.

Her eyes were wide and lackluster, and her mouth was open as if she was about to say something, but all that came out were quiet, trembling whimpers.


	17. XVII

The three Huntsmen sat together in the living area in a pensive mood. Lynae stared into her cup of cocoa with her lip clenched between her teeth, practically drenched in cold sweat.

"Things... aren't looking good," Qrow uttered.

"While I would not say our current predicament is... ideal," Ozpin affirmed, "I think we can agree that things could be much worse."

"How much worse do you think it could get?" Lynae inquired, raising her head to face him. "I-I mean, we haven't been able to find a single Huntsmen, and with what's going on with Lilah-"

"Take it easy, Lyn," Qrow interjected.

Ozpin decided to chime in. "I understand your concern, but I can assure you she will be all right. Although she can be rather... irrepressible at times, she is a strong, determined young woman who no doubt can fend for herself."

"Lilah shouldn't be our main focus right now," Qrow went on. He leaned over in his red chair and propped his elbows on his knees. "Pro Huntsmen don't just bite it all at once; it seems like _her_ reach is growing by the day. What does that say about humanity?"

"That there are indeed a misguided few who have filled their hearts with malice," Ozpin said. "It doesn't take a great number of people to cause harm. But I still believe there are far more people in this world willing to prevent it."

"I like your optimism, _cute-little-boy-Ozpin_."

They brought their attention to Lilah, who was leaning against the railing by the stairs. She was hunched over slightly and her eyes were still dull, but nevertheless, she managed to give them a weak, crooked smile. She was dressed in a plain grey tank top and black crotch pants.

"Lilah!" Lynae cried, tears streaming down her face. "You're awake!" She shot up from her seat and ran over; she pulled her niece into a tight embrace. "Oh, thank goodness...! Wait!" She held her by the shoulders. "You shouldn't be walking yet!"

"Oh, spare me the lecture..." the brunette mumbled with crossed arms. She noticed Qrow seemed to want to scold her; she wasn't surprised, especially because of how she ran off.

"How are you feeling, kiddo?" he asked.

"Like absolute shit, but I'll be fine." She strolled over to the empty couch and sat down. "I need to, uh, talk to you guys about... Koamaru."

"What did she say to you?" Ozpin inquired.

"She, er, knows about you," she uttered. "Pairing with Oscar, I mean."

"...That's... unfortunate." It seemed like he didn't know how to respond. Either way, he surprisingly took it well.

Qrow unconsciously raised his voice in alarm. "How does she know?"

"She mentioned observing us, so she must've been spying for a while. I'm not sure, but her Semblance must be invisibility-"

"She can manipulate the refraction of light on the water surrounding her body to make it seem as though she's transparent," Ozpin interrupted. "Her Semblance is a perplexing one if not analyzed correctly. I can assure you it's not invisibility."

"Sounds like you know her personally," Lilah muttered. Lynae kept her focus on him, while Qrow already seemed to know the whole story.

"I know her to some extent, but that is a tale for another time."

Qrow leaned over in his chair, his head turned to face Lilah. "What else did you learn?"

"Not much," she admitted. "All she really did was provoke me." After a short pause, she added, "There is... one thing she said. Regarding Salem."

"Yes?" Lynae urged her to continue.

"...Koamaru said she received permission from her to kill me, so I guess she wants me dead." Lilah glanced back and forth between them; they remained silent. "Said I was too rebellious. This also ties into what I wanted to ask you two about." She looked at Qrow, then at Ozpin. "Koamaru told me they had 'someone new' to help with their 'research,' and that you, Qrow, know about them. I figured you'd know too, Oz, since you two practically tell each other everything." She rested her chin on her palm as she leaned on the armrest. "Remember when you told Ruby and the others about my mom, and how I had a twin?"

Qrow suddenly went pale; he scratched the back of his head.

"I heard that entire conversation. Anyway, I have a feeling that... that my brother has something to do with that 'research.' I was... hoping you guys might know anything? Specifically about him."

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid not," Ozpin said.

Lynae shook her head and quietly apologized.

"All I know is that the kid existed," Qrow uttered. "It's a possibility, but-"

Lilah jumped out of her seat. "We have to find him then! He could be going through the same hell I went through as we speak-" 

"There's nothing we can do right now."

" _Why_?!"

"If I'm not mistaken - and I _highly_ doubt I am - you've nearly died several times ever since we stepped foot on the continent," the crow recalled. "You can't just jump into action whenever you feel like it - _no matter_ the reason. You need to _think_ like the rest of us and consider the consequences; dying isn't an option here, and you sure as _hell_ aren't ready to fight; you've been unconscious for _days_. What you really need to do right now is rest. Hate me if you want, but your brother isn't our top priority. We need to protect the Relic, and we can't do that if we're all sitting on our asses because of someone recklessly getting into a fight she knows absolutely nothing about."

With tears in her eyes, she yelled, "I don't care what happens to me! If it really is my brother, he could-"

"Lilah, please," Ozpin cooed. "Try to calm down."

"How the _hell_ am I supposed to calm down?!"

His tone of voice didn't change. "We know how hard this must be on you, but engaging the enemy with so little information can be perilous; we don't know what they're planning. The best course of action right now is to wait. I know you don't want to hear that, but we can't afford to be rash. Classes will resume in a mere few days. We must save our strength for the battle to come - and that doesn't mean we won't ever try to find him. As he's helping them with their obscure research, Salem having him killed would be very unlikely, so be at ease. He'll be all right."

"Uh, excuse me?" Ruby uttered as she slowly made her way into the room. "Is everything... all right here?" Once she noticed Lilah, she seemed happy, but she chose not to say anything; the air was uncomfortably tense.

"Ah, Ms. Rose."

"Nothin' to worry about, kiddo," Qrow said.

"Oh, uh, all right," she murmured. Her gaze was lowered to the ground, as if something was bothering her.

"Is something on your mind?"

The brunette sauntered over to them; Lilah fell onto the couch and lied face-down. "Um, if...if it's okay to ask."

"Of course."

"Well, uh... we've been talking about the Relic at Haven... and the Spring Maiden, but... what about the Fall Maiden?"

"Cinder?" Ozpin inquired.

"Does that mean... Salem has the Beacon Relic?"

Ozpin and Qrow exchanged glanced before looking back at her. "Very astute, Ms. Rose. I was wondering who would be the first to ask," Ozpin said. "No. Thankfully, she does not. It's true that the Relic at Haven is very much at risk, and for now, that should remain our primary focus. Let's just say I made finding the Relic at Beacon a... bit more challenging than at the other schools."

Ruby emitted an exaggerated sigh of relief. She smiled. "That's good to hear."

"It is. But let's not forget the challenges that still lie before us."

She nodded.

Ozpin seemed amused as he smirked. "Now, is there anything else we can help you with?"

"Oh, uh... well, I did have _one_ more question."

"No, my cane is not a Relic."

"I have no more questions."

The four laughed; Lilah, on the other hand, lied there silently.

"Yes, while this cane is indeed very precious to me, it is also just that - precious to me," Ozpin explained. "While I admit it has a few more tricks up its sleeve, I can firmly say that being a Relic isn't one of them. Now, why don't you run and get the other students? We have a lot to discuss."

Qrow's scroll began to buzz; he pulled it out of his pocket, swiped once he recognized the face on the screen, and brought it to his ear. "Yeah?... Okay... Yeah, we'll be there."

"Who was it?" Ruby asked.

Qrow sighed heavily and leaned back, pulling out his flask. "Leo," he said doubtfully, glancing over to Ozpin with a scowl and furrowed brows. "Says he had a breakthrough with the council." Ozpin also seemed irresolute as he raised a brow slightly. "Thinks he might be able to get together a small raiding party for the bandits. He wants us to meet up at the school tomorrow night to walk us through it."

Ruby gasped. "Really?" she squealed in excitement. "Oh, that's great! I'll go get the others."

Just as she sped out of the room, Lilah sat up; she gritted her teeth as her ears stiffly pressed against her head.

"That sounds drastically different from your original conversation, does it not?" Ozpin inquired.

Qrow nodded. "It does."

"Interesting..."

"Things aren't looking good, Oz."

"...I know."

The concrete glowed slightly from the broken full moon's illumination; it was a beautiful sight, honestly, but it was also a bit unsettling for an unknown reason.

Lilah walked behind everyone quietly, her ears upright and her eyes narrowed as she scanned the area. It wasn't until Oscar nudged her that she realized she stopped moving.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

"I don't trust him," Lilah practically growled.

"I know you don't. Can't say I do either. But we gotta keep moving, okay?"

"Yeah, right, whatever..." She looked off to the side attentively as if she heard something. Her irises darted back and forth between the buildings, attempting to catch someone lurking by.

Her apprehensiveness was contagious as Oscar began to feel a bit anxious. Quickly brushing it aside as best as he could, he grabbed Lilah's hand and dragged her along. The brunette paid no mind to him as she continued looking around, but went wherever he led her to.

She finally brought her focus back to him and the others as the doorframe cut the outside from her line of sight. She glared once she spotted Leonardo standing atop the statue.

"Thank you for... er, coming," he greeted. "There... seems to be more of you than last time." He chuckled in an attempt to mask his nervousness, but Lilah could easily tell, especially from how his tail swayed behind him.

"Eh, you know what they say," Qrow said. "'The more the merrier.' So what's going on with the council?"

"Why... did you bring your weapons?" His front cracked slightly as he held his hands behind his back. Lilah couldn't help but be suspicious about how he had brought his shield with him.

"What? Leo, we're Huntsmen. You okay?"

"Of course! Of course, sorry. I just haven't had my evening coffee."

"Look, it's nice to see you, but we got work to do. Are we getting support from the council or not?"

"...Mom?" Yang said, gazing up at a large black bird resting on one of the railings. Instantly, Qrow pulled out his sword and fired a shot, but the raven flew away at the last second, gliding behind Leonardo as she transformed into her human form in the bat of an eye.

She stood there without a word and glanced over to them, her Grimm mask over her face.

"Raven..." Ruby muttered.

"They..." Nora was almost speechless, "they really are magic..."

Raven took off her mask and held it under her arm with a scowl. "If you're going to shoot me, shoot me. That was insulting."

"What are you doing here?!" Qrow demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing." Raven smirked as she slowly walked down the walkway. "You've been scheming, little brother. Planning to attack your _own sister_."

"Leo... what have you done?!"

"I-"

"Leo did what any sane person would in his position." Raven stood in front of the statue, facing everyone. "He looked at all the information he had in front of him, assessed the situation, and made a choice." The Faunus looked down in shame. "And it seems you all have too."

"You have the Spring Maiden," Qrow stated.

"I do."

"Then hand her over and let's work together! We can beat Salem!"

"All that time spying for Ozpin and you _still_ have no idea what you're dealing with. There _is_ no _beating Salem_."

"You're wrong," Ruby uttered. She stepped forward. "We've done things most people would call impossible, and I know the only reason we were able to do it was because we didn't do it alone! We had people to teach us, people to help us, we had each other. Work _with_ us. At least I know we'll have a better chance if we try together." She held her hand forward. "Please."

Raven's expression dulled. "You sound just like your mother." She whipped out her sword, slicing through the air by her side. A portal opened up, and just as suddenly, a ball of fire shot out, sending the girl flying.

"Ruby!" Yang raced over to her sister.

The first one to emerge from the portal was Cinder. She had a sinister smirk on her face as she addressed everyone. "Hello, boys and girls." Behind her were Emerald and Mercury, followed by Koamaru and an unfamiliar face - Vernal.

"Cinder..." Ruby growled.

Lilah immediately jumped in front of Oscar, baring her fangs, open palms at her sides that exposed her razor-sharp claws.

"C'mon guys, is that any way to greet your old friends?" Mercury said.

Yang growled and raised her fists to her sides.

"Everybody, stay calm!" Qrow snapped.

The doors opened, and everyone quickly turned around.

"Oh no..." Oscar murmured.

A tall and muscular man wearing an olive-colored coat shut the entrance and faced them. "The White Fang is prepping demolition and securing the school grounds. No one's getting in, and no one's getting out." He began to make his way over to them.

Lilah's eyes widened, recognizing him. "Hazel...?"

The farmhand looked over to her. "Wait, you know him?"

The brunette slowly nodded without a word.

"This was all just a trap?" Weiss said, staring at Leonardo.

"It appears so," Ren replied.

"Raven, tell me..." Qrow inquired, "how long have you been with them?"

"Aww, don't take it personally, little bird." Cinder's voice was soft yet taunting. "Your sister was a recent addition. The lion on the other hand... Entrance into the Vytal Festival was a _real_ treat, but Leonardo's been sending Salem all _sorts_ of information for a very, _very_ long time. Isn't that right, Professor?"

"Stop it..." Leonardo lowered his head shamefaced, but clearly feeling sorry wouldn't fix anything he's done.

"It was you..." Qrow uttered. "You sit on the Mistral Council. You have information on _every_ Huntsmen and Huntress in the kingdom, and you gave it all to **_her_**."

"I-"

"I couldn't find any of them, because you let her **kill** them!"

"Aw, now, don't beat yourself up about it, Lionheart, I'm sure Tyrian and Hazel would've found them on their own eventually," Cinder assured.

"What is wrong with you?"

Everyone brought their attention to Jaune, who had his head down.

"How can you be so broken inside? To take so many lives... and then come here and rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of?!"

"Jaune...?" Nora muttered.

" ** _All with that damn smile on your face!_** " Tears streamed down the blonde's face. Ruby swiftly raised Crescent Rose and Yang activated her gauntlets.

"Everybody, stay calm!" Qrow said.

" _I'm gonna make you pay for what you did! **Do you hear me?!**_ "

"Kid!"

" _Well?!_ _**Say something!**_ "

Cinder stared at him silently for a few moments, a small frown forming on her face. "Who're you again?"

Jaune's eyes narrowed and his teeth were clenched as he charged in. Just as he swung his sword, Cinder formed a weapon that appeared to be made of thick glass and fire; she easily blocked his attack.

"Jaune!" Ruby fired her gun and used the recoil to launched herself into the air. Just as Crescent Rose converted into a scythe, Emerald used her chain and slammed her to the ground.

"Dammit!" Lilah bellowed, barely able to step forward as a figure appeared before her. She quickly realized it was Koamaru; the blue-eyed female held a dagger to her throat. "You...!"

"Surprised to see you're already up and running!" the woman commented with a wide smile. "How's your wound? Still hurts, doesn't it?~"

Lilah swung a punch, but Koamaru grabbed her fist.

"You're pretty weak compared to the last time we fought."

"The hell do you want?!" Lilah sent another fist her way. Koamaru hopped back and kicked upward, her toes colliding with her chin. With another rapid movement, Lilah was sent hurtling backward; her back slammed into one of the large pillars.

The woman unwrapped her chains from around her waist, spinning it by her side as she smirked, seeing that everyone had a battle partner, aside from Oscar. "I would like to finish what we started now that your friends are occupied," she said, taking a glance at the boy. "I'm going to assume you can hear me, Ozpin, so listen carefully - once I'm done with Wisteria here, you're next, so try not to waste too much energy, 'kay? I don't plan on going easy on you!~"


	18. XVIII

Koamaru giggled maniacally as she kneeled over Lilah's beaten body. "You still have yet to put a scratch on me," she said with a wide grin. "I knew this would be easy, but this was _too_ easy! Haha~"

Lilah had a gash on her forehead that bled profusely, and she was covered in bruises and cuts from the latter's assault.

No matter how hard she tried, she wasn't able to transform, and with each attempt, pain shot through her body and her vision blurred.

"Are you giving up?" the woman inquired.

"Of course I'm not, you cocky _bitch!_ " Lilah swung her fist, her knuckles just barely colliding with Koamaru's face; the latter swiftly grabbed her wrist and pinned her down at her forearm using her blade. The brunette winced and grasped her arm tightly.

"Considering the position you're in, I suggest thinking about what you're going to say." She ripped the blade free and stood, her heel on Lilah's chest as she looked over to the others. "The fight just got started and it's already getting exciting!"

Lilah glanced over just as Cinder held out her sword of pure flame, and she and Jaune charged in. In a split second, there was a sudden scream and a flash of bright, white light.

A horrible burning sensation overcame Lilah's body, knocking the air out of her. She was barely able to catch her breath.

Koamaru giggled again. "How fascinating," she said. "So that's what happens when one uses the power of the silver eyes? What a shame it had to go to Ruby Rose." She looked down at the brunette trembling on the ground. "I'll be right back, Wisteria." She stepped off of her, and her dagger transformed into a scythe; her chain lightly swung to and fro next to her. "I'm dying to take a closer look~"

As Koamaru began to saunter away, Lilah stumbled to her feet and attempted to strike the back of her head, but Koamaru quickly dodged, whirled around, and sent a kick to her gut. She crashed into the wall.

Lilah's ears began to ring as she got on her hands and knees; she whipped her head up as she heard a bellowing voice shout.

" ** _Ozpin!_** "

"Oz-" She was abruptly cut off as Koamaru stomped on her head, burying her face into the ground.

"Awe, is someone worried about their precious little Ozpin?~" she taunted. She raised a brow as Lilah forced herself up despite Koamaru's boot holding her down.

"Get out of my way!" She grabbed her ankle and pushed her aside; she staggered to her feet, and Koamaru cackled quietly.

"Are we getting desperate now?"

"Shut up!" Lilah swung a punch, but Koamaru's body quickly disappeared. She was then knocked back to the ground with a blow to the head, but she immediately got back up again.

"If I remember correctly... you want to avoid getting close to people. But here you are, attached to little Oscar like a lost puppy!" the noirette commented. "It's almost embarrassing, really. Cute, but embarrassing."

" _I said shut up, dammit!_ " Lilah raised her fist but was suddenly sent flying by an unknown force. She laid on the hardwood floor in a daze, motionless for a moment before finally sitting up. She turned her head; beside Koamaru stood a familiar humanoid Grimm.

Koamaru scowled. "I thought I told Beryl I didn't want you here," she said.

The Grimm let out a throaty huff, its body hunched over with its arms hanging down to the ground limply.

"Well, whatever, I want to get a better view of the main fight! I'll leave Lilah to you - kill her if you really want to."

The Grimm was silent, but Koamaru decided to brush him off run over to the main fight. She used the star head on her chain to hook onto the building's upper platform, where she climbed up and looked on from above as if she was at an auditorium watching a soap opera.

Lilah glanced over at her allies, her eyes widening as she spotted Weiss lying on the ground, Jaune at her side. Nora stood in front of the two. Jaune appeared to be relieved, so Lilah wasn't exactly worried.

Ruby and Yang were fighting against Emerald and Mercury; Ozpin and Ren were up against Hazel as Qrow lied on the ground a fair distance away from everyone else. Leonardo was standing by the entrance to his office, anxiously watching everyone; Cinder, Raven, and Vernal were nowhere to be seen, which made Lilah suspect they were somewhere in the vault.

Lilah hastily turned around just as the Grimm's arm stretched out toward her. She rolled away, just barely missing its claws. The appendage retracted instantly, seizing her along the way. Like a whip, it jerked to the side, releasing Lilah at the last moment, the power of the throw sending her straight through a wooden column. Her back slammed into the wall and she fell on to the ground.

On her knees, she wiped the blood out of her eyes and looked upward - the Grimm's hand was shooting right for her once more, and she didn't have any time to react.

A figure landed in front of her forthwith and carried her out of harm's way.

Even with her eyes open, she was hardly able to process what occurred as it happened. It took until she was set on the ground that she realized it was Ozpin who came to her aid.

"You mustn't lash out in anger," he advised, holding his cane in front of himself. "Don't let her provoke you."

"I...I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for." He glanced over to Hazel just as he struck Ren, sending him flying into the wall. With a thrust of his fist, a cluster of pure energy blasted into Ren, electrocuting him as he screamed. He charged in time to defend his injured student, and Lilah stumbled to her feet.

It was unbearably easy to tell how much he was straining himself. He looked utterly exhausted; his movement was considerably slower compared to earlier and his complexion was beginning to pale.

Lilah felt as if her heart stopped beating once Ozpin was knocked to the ground.

"Hiding behind the face of a child?!" Hazel bellowed. "A monster like you must be stopped!"

Nora quickly jumped in, swinging her hammer down on the enraged male. Hazel grasped her weapon and slammed her to the ground; he kneeled over her with his hand on her head. She screamed as her body shook violently from the volts of electricity coursing through her.

"How many more children must die for you?!"

Hazel brought his attention back to the redhead as she grabbed his arm. With the help of her Semblance, she was able to force herself to her knees; she flipped Hazel over her head and immediately went for Magnhild.

"His Semblance..." Ozpin said as he got to his knees, and she turned toward him. "He can block out pain. It's how he's able to handle injecting so much Dust into his body."

Nora focused on Hazel, who was now standing up. "I don't need him to hurt..." she said, and he ran toward her. "I just need him to **_go down_**!" She swung her hammer at the perfect time, and he flew straight through the building's entrance, demolishing it.

Koamaru burst into hysterical laughter.

Lilah looked outside as Hazel got to his feet, and averted her gaze to the Grimm standing silently as it stared back.

She took a step back as it began to move, and its arm extended toward her. She leaped aside as it darted by, but it swung its arm to the side, throwing her into the stairs.

Lilah quickly sat up once she noticed Weiss standing in the middle of the hall. Light blue wind swirled behind her as one of her glyphs appeared behind her, and a large creature began to form - which turned out to be a Queen Lancer. Impressive.

Its stinger shot toward Hazel after he injected himself with fire Dust crystals, piercing his side before retracting, forcing him back inside the building.

Weiss suddenly gasped, and the rest of her team turned to face a young woman who they haven't seen in what felt like an eternity.

Blake glanced back and forth between her friends before finally focusing on Yang. "...Yang?"

Ruby whirled around to her sister. "Yang! Go!"

The blonde inclined her head and sprinted over to the vault entrance, and Emerald yelled and jumped after her. As she missed, Mercury managed to grab a hold of her robotic arm, but it immediately disconnected from her body. Yang jumped down to the vault, and Weiss slashed the air with her sword, creating a thick wall of ice.

Ruby glanced over to Jaune, and the two exchanged nods. Ruby then turned to Blake and bowed her head, and the Faunus ran off.

Just as Lilah stood up, the Grimm outstretched its arm again, pinning her to the wall as she didn't see it coming.

Qrow swooped in and cut the arm in half, and the Grimm shrieked as what remained of its appendage retracted. The Huntsman grabbed Lilah's wrist and pulled her up. "You all right, kid?"

"Still in one piece..." she said, spitting out blood from her mouth.

"Why aren't you transforming?"

"If I could, I would've done that already." The brunette raised her head and held her bloody arm. "Koamaru drugged me last time we fought... It's gotta be that."

"I want you to stand clear," Qrow said. "You're going to get yourself killed at this rate."

"No way in hell-"

"Do you want to die here?!"

Lilah remained silent.

"Please, don't fight." The crow rejoined with Ozpin.

The Grimm showed no sign of intending to back down; it began to run toward them, and its other arm extended. It dug its claws into the ground and pulled, launching itself over as it screamed.

" _ **O̧͟͡Z̸̵̵̨P̨̛͠I̡̨̕N͘͠͏!̧͘͟͝**_ "

It whisked past Hazel just as he sent a punch to Ozpin, who dodged.

Lilah reached for Ozpin's arm and jerked him out of the way as the Grimm clung to the upper side of the wall. It jumped tout de suite, and Lilah had no time to do anything but throw herself on top of him as the creature landed on them.

" _No!_ " Qrow shouted. He used his sword to shield himself from Hazel's blows.

Lilah's body trembled as she struggled to stay on her hands and knees. The Grimm hovered over them, its claws impaling her abdomen; the tips of its nails barely touched Ozpin, who lied below her, staring at her as if he was in a daze.

The Grimm gave an antagonizing snarl as it whipped Lilah into the wall, its eyes glued to Ozpin. It immediately slammed its large hand on him, but he used his cane to keep it at bay as best as he could.

The head of a javelin suddenly pierced through the Grimm's chest and it jerked forward slightly.

Lynae peeked over to Ozpin. "Sorry I'm late!" she said, jumping off the Grimm. It turned toward her and growled; she then spotted Lilah as she staggered to her feet. "Lilah, no! Don't move!"

"Shut up...!" The brunette wheezed and coughed up blood, falling to her hands and knees.

Weiss' Queen Lancer began to shoot projectiles from its abdomen, aiming for Hazel and the Grimm. Hazel thrust his fists toward the Lancer, and a mixture of lightning and fire shot forward and collided with it, and it disappeared on impact.

Blake suddenly jumped through the blue haze, kicking Hazel's face before landing beside Weiss and Ruby.

"Are you hurt?" she inquired.

"N-No!" Weiss replied. "I just remember you being more of the quiet one."

Blake turned toward Hazel, accompanied by Emerald and Mercury. Her eyes narrowed as her weapon's blade clicked back into place to resemble a short sword. "Not today."

"All right," Weiss said. "W-What's the plan, Ruby?"

The silver-eyed teen nodded her head as she looked over to Leonardo - his shield was aimed toward them. She fired a bullet that struck his shoulder, breaking his Aura. He immediately ran into his office.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Mercury grumbled.

Hazel yelled and charged in.

"Checkmate!" Ruby shouted, and Weiss and Blake ran in, and she followed close behind.

Lilah looked up once a shadow loomed over her, and she was picked up bridal style. "...What... are you doing...?"

"Moving you to safety," Jaune said, hurrying away just as Lynae managed to push the Grimm back. He lied Lilah on the ground away from the fight, off to the corner of the room. He looked down at her, pressing his hands against hers that were on her wounds. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah... peachy..."

"Now is _not_ the time for jokes!"

"As... you can see... I'm... not..." Her breath hitched as she tensed.

"Don't talk. Just focus on breathing, okay?"

Lilah closed her eyes, panting heavily. She felt like she was going to faint any second. "Oz...pin..."

"Huh?"

"Is... he okay?"

Jaune looked up; everyone was up and fighting. Ozpin, although bruised, seemed to be doing just fine. "He is." The blonde brought his attention back to Lilah. "All thanks to you."

She sighed in relief. "...Good."

"...Lilah, try and stay awake for me, okay? I think... I think I can help you."

She barely opened her eyes, but it wasn't hard to see she was looking at him.

"My Semblance... I can use my Aura to amplify others'. If I give you some of my Aura, then-"

"It won't work..."

"You don't know that."

"Jaune... I don't... have an Aura..."

"Please, let me at least try."

Lilah lied there silently for a few moments. "...Fine..." she murmured.

Jaune quickly nodded and shut his eyes tightly. His arms began to glow white with Aura, and the Aura gradually flowed down over Lilah's body. Though, it was much slower than with Weiss. "Come on, come on...! Please, work!" He opened his eyes and his heart sank, seeing she was beginning to lose consciousness. "...Lilah? Lilah! Stay with me! Please!" He felt himself slowly begin to panic as nothing happened - he could barely tell if she was breathing, and her eyes were partially open. That, on top of her profuse bleeding, he didn't know what would happen, but he refused to be pessimistic about it.

"Awe, poor Jauney boy."

He gasped as Koamaru abruptly landed in front of him. He quickly pulled out his longsword and held Lilah close with his free arm while still transferring his Aura to her. "What the hell do you want?!"

"Ooh, so aggressive!~" Koamaru cackled with a hand over her mouth. She stood up with her dagger in one hand and her chain in the other; she smiled. "I can't tell if you're trying to be brave or incredibly dense. You know you can't beat me, but you still raise your blade?"

"You're wrong if you think I'm going to stand by and let you kill her." The blonde gently laid Lilah back down and stood in front of her, the Aura ceasing to illuminate. He had to make this quick - he took out his sheath and it expanded into a shield.

"Yeah, dense," the noirette giggled. She raised her dagger. "You did manage to save that Schnee girl, but do you really think you'll be able to save _her_ too?"

"I won't let any of my friends die today."

"Haha, how ambitious."

Jaune swung his sword with a shout. Koamaru was swiftly able to deflect his attack, but hadn't expected him to charge forward and butt her with the edge of his shield. She performed a backflip and landed in a crouching position. She then stood and wiped the small line of blood dribbling from her lip.

She tittered. "To think you'd be the one to draw my first drop of blood tonight..." She spun her chain over her head. "I was honestly holding back on you, but I guess I won't. I guess you have a few tricks up your sleeve to catch me off guard, yeah? What a smart boy!" She swung her chain like a whip, and Jaune blocked each hit.

He quickly lowered his shield slightly once she didn't attack again, turning around once he realized she wasn't there.

Koamaru's chain wrapped around his sword, the star head hooking onto the blade. She laughed quietly as she tugged on it, "That desperate look in your eyes... Ha, I almost feel bad for you."

She raised a brow as Jaune stuck his sword into the floor.

"Do you realize what you're doing?"

"Of course I do!" He plowed straight for her with his shield up, and she was forced to let go of her chain as she dodged. She attempted to cut his arm with her dagger, but he used his shield to force her arm down and swung a punch with his free arm.

Koamaru swiftly grabbed his wrist and twisted it as she slid her foot under his legs, knocking him to the ground. She sat on top of him, her heel pressed to his shield. She plunged her dagger down over his face, but he grabbed her wrist.

"You _really_ underestimated me," Koamaru uttered with a scowl. 

Jaune clenched his teeth and pulled his arm out from under his shield, attempting to strike her once more. She grasped his wrist and got on her knees, forcing her blade down. He, to her dismay, knocked her hand aside at the last second and her dagger lodged itself into the floor.

"You're starting to annoy me now." She ripped her weapon out of the ground. "So we're done here-"

She gasped as a sword sliced her across her mid abdomen, and she immediately jumped off of him and held her wound.

Jaune sat up and turned around at the sound of a thud. Lilah was on the ground, Crocea Mors in her hand. The blade still had Koamaru's chain wrapped around it.

She managed to raise her head enough to rest her chin on the ground, squinting her eyes from the pain. "You... _stupid_... _blonde **idiot**_..."

"Tch." Koamaru glanced at her bloodied arm. "Dammit...!" She glared in the Grimm's direction. "Should've killed her earlier when he had the chance...! Guess I can't count on family to fight..."

The elevator to the vault rose, and everyone turned in its direction.

Yang stood there, holding up a fancy golden lantern with a circular blue center that pulsated, emitting a sound similar to a heartbeat.

"Yang..." Ruby was speechless as she smiled.

Tears trickled down Emerald's cheeks as she dropped her guns and collapsed to her hands and knees.

Mercury and Hazel slowly backed away from the group; the Grimm stood off to the side, not moving a muscle as it glowered at them.

"Emerald, get up, we need to go..." Mercury said quietly, but she just raised her head and looked back and forth between them. "Emerald!"

The tears streamed as she held her head and screamed.

The entire atmosphere of the room became ominous, and the lighting darkened as a large figure formed in the middle of the room. It was of a woman wearing a long black dress, and her hair was up in a bun with various accessories.

Her body was distorted as her crimson eyes widened. With a shriek, she rushed toward them, and she suddenly disappeared.

The enemies were gone - Hazel, Emerald, Mercury, Koamaru, and the Grimm were nowhere to be seen.

"Wha-" Blake was at a loss for words, "what _was_ that?!"

"An illusion," Ozpin stated. "But an accurate one." He looked up at everyone with a solemn, almost apologetic expression. "That... was Salem."

The students, as well as Lynae, stood in disbelief.

"We're fighting against... that...?" she mumbled, her trembling voice barely audible to no one but herself.

Two unfamiliar Faunus accompanied by Sun headed into the building, and Blake quickly reunited with them.

Lilah wearily looked up at Jaune as he kneeled beside her. Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation on her back that slowly began to spread. "You... seriously... still on about that...?"

"I'm not giving up on you, so don't give up on yourself either," he said. "If you won't do it for yourself, then... please, do it for all of us."

Lilah sighed quietly, seeing the tears in his eyes. Although it was blurry, it was still noticeable. "...Never thought... you would cry for me..." She looked at her hand as white Aura surrounded her body. With another sigh, she lowered her head to the ground, spotting Ruby hurrying over, followed by Weiss, Yang, Blake, Nora, Ren, and Lynae.

"Lilah!" Ruby cried. "Are you-"

"Jeez... you're... so loud..."

"Good," Jaune said. "That can keep you awake."

Lilah chuckled; she shut her eyes and winced.

"Hey, everyone, back up. Give 'em a breather." Qrow walked over, and they did as they were told. He held the Relic at his side as he kneeled down beside the blonde. "How is she?" he asked softly.

"She's... lost a lot of blood... I-I'm honestly not sure how much longer she'll stay conscious... All we can do now is wait and... hope this works..."

Qrow nodded without a word. Just as he was about to stand, Lilah grabbed the end of his tailcoat and tugged lightly. He looked down at her.

"Stay...?"

"...Of course." He settled back down and the brunette attempted to sit up. " _Hey_ , you shouldn't be moving." He reached out to lie her down, but she dragged herself over to him and leaned against his chest.

"Now... I won't move..."

Qrow forgot how to speak for a moment. "...Right."

"Um... come on, guys," Lynae said. "Let's give them some space." 

"But-" Ruby stammered.

"Ruby..."

"Don't worry, Lyn," Qrow assured her. "It's fine."

"...You sure?"

"Yeah."

Lynae was silent for a moment before she nodded her head a few times. "O-Okay. I'm, er, gonna go back to the inn," she said. "To-to get Ame."

Yang quickly stood. "I'll go with her."

Lynae nodded again and looked down at Qrow. "I...I hope everything goes well."

"...Thanks."

Lynae and Yang turned to walk away just as Jaune gasped. "G-Guys! Look!"

The Aura surrounding her body began to change color - it went from white to heather purple.

"She-She has an Aura!"


End file.
